A methodology for E valuating F leet, i.e., self and partner, P rotection (EFP) of new vehicle designs is developed through a systems modeling approach driven by structural and occupant modeling and real world crash and full scale test data. The EFP methodology consists of a virtual model simulating the real world crash environment (i.e., different types of vehicles, impact velocities, impact directions, impact types, etc.). A concept or new vehicle design could be introduced into this model to evaluate the safety of its occupants and those of other vehicles with which it is involved in crashes. The initial implementation of EFP methodology is to frontal crashes where the modeled crash configurations are derived from a new crash taxonomy based on real world structural engagement. Simulation data to drive the methodology is obtained from finite element structural models of the vehicles. Occupant responses are based on three dimensional articulated rigid body models of the occupant and the passenger compartment. The occupant is restrained by seat belts and airbags and the structural deformations and kinematics of the passenger compartment needed to drive the occupant models are predicted by the finite element structural models. Both the structural and the occupant models are subjected to validation and robustness checks for the modeled crash configurations. The aggregate of injury risk across vehicle classes, impact speeds, occupant sizes, and crash configurations, weighted by relative frequency of the specific event in real world crashes, is used as a measure of overall societal safety. Results from a proof-of-concept application are presented.

The National Crash Analysis Center (NCAC) at the George Washington University (GWU) has been developing and maintaining a public domain library of LS-DYNA finite element (FE) vehicle models for use in transportation safety research. The recent addition to the FE model library is the 2007 Chevrolet Silverado FE model. This FE model will be extensively used in roadside hardware safety research. The representation of the suspension components and its response in oblique impacts into roadside hardware are critical factors influencing the predictive capability of the FE model. To improve the FE model fidelity and applicability to the roadside hardware impact scenarios it is important to validate and verify the model to multitude of component and full scale tests. This paper provides detailed description of the various component and full scale tests that were performed, specifically, to validate the suspension model of the 2007 Chevrolet Silverado FE model.