Abstract
During accident, the interlayer of windshield plays an important role in the crash safety of automotive and protection of pedestrian or passenger. The understanding of its energy absorption capability is of fundamental importance. Conventional interlayer material of automotive windshield is made by Polyvinyl butyral (PVB). Recently, a new candidate of high-performance nanoporous energy absorption system (NEAS) has been suggested as a candidate for crashworthiness. For the model problem of pedestrian head impact with windshield, we compare the energy absorption capabilities of PVB and NEAS interlayers, in terms of the contact force, acceleration, velocity, head injury criteria, and energy absorption ratio, among which results obtained from PVB interlayers are validated by literature references. The impact speed is obtained from virtual test field in PC-CRASH, and the impact simulations are carried out using explicit finite element simulations. Both the accident speed and interlayer thickness are varied to explore their effects. The explicit relationships established among the energy absorption capabilities, impact speed, and interlayer material/thickness, are useful for safety evaluation as well as automotive design. It is shown that the NEAS interlayer may absorb more energy than PVB interlayer and it may be a competitive candidate for windshield interlayer.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Euro NCAP (2009). Assessment Protocol-Pedestrian Protection.
Atahan, A. O. (2010). Vehicle crash test simulation of roadside hardware using LS-DYNA: A literature review. Int. J. Heavy Veh. Syst. 17,1, 52–75.
Chen, X., Cao, G., Han, A., Punyamurtula, V. K., Liu, L., Culligan, P. J., Kim, T. and Qiao, Y. (2008). Nanoscale fluid transport: Size and rate effects. Nano Letters, 8, 2988–2992.
Chen, X., Surani, F. B., Kong, X. G., Punyamurtula, V. K. and Qiao, Y. (2006). Energy absorption performance of a steel tube enhanced by a nanoporous material functionalized liquid. Appl. Phys. Lett., 89, 241918.1–5.
Cunto, F. and Saccomanno, F. F. (2008). Calibration and validation of simulated vehicle safety performance at signalized intersections. Accident Analysis and Prevention 40,3, 1171–1179.
Gadd, C. W. (1966). Use of a Weighted-impulse Criterion for Estimating Injury Hazard. SAE.
Giavotto, V. (2004). Compatibility of Vehicles with Safety Barriers - Head Ejection Through Side Windows. Transportation Research Board. Washington.
Holand, W. and Beall, G. H. (2002). Glass Ceramic Technology. Wiley-Blackwell. Berlin.
Jo, H. C. and Kim, Y. E. (2009). A study on the influence of the seat and head restraint foam stiffnesses on neck injury in low speed offset rear impacts. Int. J. Precision Engineering and Manufacturing 10,2, 105–110.
Lee, J. W., Shin, M. K., Yoon, K. H. and Park, G. J. (2008). An orthogonal-array-based design-of-experiments method for designing a vehicle hood and bumper structure. Proc. Institution of Mechanical Engineers Part D-J. Automobile Engineering, 222, D2, 161–171.
Liu, L., Chen, X., Lu, W., Han, A. and Qiao, Y. (2009). Infiltration of electrolytes in molecular-sized nanopores. Phys. Rev. Lett. 102,18, 184501.
Liu, L., Qiao, Y. and Chen, X. (2008). Pressure-driven water infiltration into carbon nanotube: The effect of applied charges. Appl. Phys. Lett., 92, 101927.1–3.
Lj, G. and Mf, A. (1999). Cellular Solids. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.
Maki, T., Kajzer, J., Mizuno, K. and Sekine, Y. (2003). Comparative analysis of vehicle-bicyclist and vehicle-pedestrian accidents in Japan. Accident Analysis and Prevention 35,6.
Marjoux, D., Baumgartner, D., Deck, C. and Willinger, R. (2008). Head injury prediction capability of the HIC, HIP, SIMon and ULP criteria. Accident Analysis and Prevention 40,3, 1135–1148.
Mencik, J. and Kralove, H. (1992). Strength and Fracture of Glass and Ceramics. Elsevier Science Publisher. Amsterdam.
Oh, C., Kang, Y. S., Youn, Y. and Konosu, A. (2008). Development of probabilistic pedestrian fatality model for characterizing pedestrian-vehicle collisions. Int. J. Automotive Technology 9,2, 191–196.
Otte, D. (1999). Severity and Mechanism of Head Impacts in Car-to-pedestrian Accidents. IRCOBI. Sitges. Spain.
Pyttel, T. and Weyer, S. (2003). Crash simulation with glassy polymers - constitutive model and application. Int. J. Crashworthiness 8,5, 433–442.
Qiao, Y., Liu, L. and Chen, X. (2009). Pressurized liquid in nanopores: A modified laplace-young equation. Nano Lett. 9,3, 984–988.
Research Institution of Traffic Management of Public Safety Ministry (2010). Traffic Accident Annual Census of People’s Republic of China. Beijing.
Schmucker, U., Beirau, M., Frank, M., Stengel, D., Matthes, G., Ekkernkamp, A. and Seifert, J. (2010). Real-world car-to-pedestrain-crash data from an urban center. J. Trauma Management and Outcomes 4,2, 1–6.
Shahbeyk, S. and Abvabi, A. (2009). A numerical study on the effect of accident configuration on pedestrian lower extremity injuries. Scientia Iranica Trans. a-Civil Engineering 16,5, 376–387.
Shin, M. K., Yi, S. I., Kwon, O. T. and Park, G. J. (2008). Structural optimization of the automobile frontal structure for pedestrian protection and the low-speed impact test. Proc. Institution of Mechanical Engineers Part D-J. Automobile Engineering, 222, D12, 2373–2387.
Stobener, K. and Rausch, G. (2009). Aluminium foampolymer composites: Processing and characteristics. J. Materials Science 44,6, 1506–1511.
Thollon, L., Jammes, C., Behr, M., Amoux, P. J., Cavallero, C. and Brunet, C. (2007). How to decrease pedestrain injuries: Conceptual evolutions starting from 137 crash tests. J. Trauma, 62, 512–519.
Timmel, M., Kolling, S., Osterrieder, P. and Bois, P. A. D. (2007). A finite element model for impact simulation with laminated glass. Int. J. Impact Eng. 34,8, 1465–1478.
Toy, E. L. and Hammitt, J. K. (2003). Safety impacts of SUVs, vans, and pickup trucks in two-vehicle crashes. Risk Anal. 23,4, 641–650.
Valera, T. S. and Demarquette, N. R. (2008). Polymer toughening using residue of recycled windshields: PVB film as impact modifier. Eur. Polym. J., 44, 755–768.
Wood, D. P. (1998). Impact and movement of pedestrian in frontal collisions with vehicles. Proc. Institute of Mechanical Engineers, Part D, Automotive Engineering, 202, 101–110.
Xu, H. and Fan, Y. (2007). Simulation Research on Form and Kinematics Law of Contact Process for Automobile-pedestrian Collision based on the Coupling of PCCRASH and MADYMO. American Society of Civil Engineering. Chengdu, Sichuan.
Xu, J. and Li, Y. (2009a). Crack analysis in PVB laminated windshield impacted by pedestrian head in traffic accident. Int. J. Crashworthiness 14,1, 63–71.
Xu, J. and Li, Y. (2009b). Review on pedestrian-vehicle impact accident reconstruction technology. Automotive Engineering 31,11, 1029–1033.
Xu, J. and Li, Y. (2009c). Study of damage in windshield glazing subject to impact by a pedestrian’s head. Proc. Inst. Mech. Eng. Part D-J. Automob. Eng. 223,1, 77–84.
Xu, J., Li, Y., Ge, D., Liu, B. and Zhu, M. (2011). Experimental investigation on constitutive behavior of PVB under impact loading. Int. J. Impact Eng. 38, 2–3, 106–114.
Xu, J., Li, Y., Liu, B., Zhu, M. and Ge, D. (2011). Experimental study on mechanical behavior of PVB laminated glass under quasi-static and dynamic loadings. Composite B, 42, 302–308.
Xu, J., Li, Y., Lu, G. and Zhou, W. (2009). Reconstruction model of vehicle impact speed in pedestrian-vehicle accident. Int. J. Impact Eng 36,6, 783–788.
Xu, J., Zhu, M., Liu, B. and Li, Y. (In press-b). Investigation on dynamic response of PVB laminated windshield in low impact speed. ACTA Armamentaria, 31, 11–14.
Yasuki, T. and Kojima, S. (2009). Application of aluminium honeycomb model using shell elements to offset deformable barrier model. Int. J. Crashworthiness 14,5, 449–456.
Yuan, X. and Li, S. M. (2005). Analysis of rectangular thin plate vibration under different support conditions. Aeroengine 31,3, 3943.
Zhao, J., Culligan, P. J., Germaine, J. T. and Chen, X. (2009). Experimental study on energy dissipation of electrolyte in nanopores. Langmuir, 25, 12687–12696.
Zhao, S., Dharani, L. R., Chai, L. and Barbat, S. D. (2006a). Analysis of damage in laminated automotive glazing subjected to simulated head impact. Eng. Fail. Anal. 13,4, 582–597.
Zhao, S., Dharani, L. R., Chai, L. and Barbat, S. D. (2006b). Dynamic response of laminated automotive glazing impacted by spherical featureless headform. Int. J. Crashworthiness 11,2, 105–113.
Zhao, S., Dharani, L. R., Liang, X., Chai, L. and Barbat, S. D. (2005). Crack initiation in laminated automotive glazing subjected to simulated head impact. Int. J. Crashworthiness 10,3, 229–236.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Xu, J., Li, Y.B., Chen, X. et al. Automotive windshield — pedestrian head impact: Energy absorption capability of interlayer material. Int.J Automot. Technol. 12, 687–695 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12239-011-0080-2
Received:
Revised:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12239-011-0080-2