Front underride involving tractor-trailers and small passenger vehicles remains a concern to those wishing to improve highway safety. Although a number of Front Underride Protection Device (FUPD) designs have been studied for effectiveness with respect to performance under crash scenarios, the development process of such devices has been seemingly restricted to a disconnected method. This is to say; in order to truly optimize an FUPD, all influencing factors should be studied together as a unit, while conducting intelligent parameter variation to improve performance. NCAC’s 2010 Toyota Yaris Finite Element model is subjected to multiple rigid bar crash testing in order to investigate compatibility with changing ground clearance and contact bar cross sectional height.
Three FUPDs are then modeled using topology and multi-objective parametric optimization including shape variation in conformity with ECE R93 static load standards. These guards are then subjected to dynamic testing versus the Yaris model.
