The process of front-to-side collision of motor vehicles in terms of energy balance

Abstract

The reconstruction of a road accident can be treated as the resolution of an “inverse problem” in mechanics using analytical or numerical models. In the road accident reconstruction research, an assumption is often made that a predominant part of the energy lost during vehicle collisions is consumed by permanent deformation of vehicle components. Other parts of the dissipated energy can be ignored due to their insignificant amount. In this article, this assumption will be verified for the front-to-side collision of passenger cars. The main objective of this paper is to determine the important components of the energy balance dissipated during the collision. These components were determined on the basis of experimental results, which included three crash tests with a front-to-side collision of motor vehicles of the same make and model, with the right-angle impact of one car against the side of another. The results of experiments were used to construct the model of the dynamics of the motor vehicle collision. The model was then used as a basis for the determination of the forces, displacements and velocities during vehicle collision. The above made it possible to determine vehicle force/deformation curves and then the key components of the dissipated energy in function of the duration of the contact phase of the vehicle collision. Based on the results of the model and crash tests, conclusions were formulated that provide an important insight into the reconstruction of the front-to-side collisions of motor vehicles.