APPLICATION OF KINEMATIC MODELS TO COMPRESSION AND BENDING IN SIMPLIFIED CRASH CALCULATIONS

The growing complexity of transport vehicles requires huge finite elem ent models to simulate their crash behaviour. The structure cannot be effectively optimized by means of these models which require long calc ulation times. and which should only be used as a final verifying tool . Distinct kinematic models have been developed in order to determine analytically the resistance to collapse of thin-walled structures of s imple geometry subjected to compression or bending loading. Using an e xample of an ''S'' frame undergoing a collision against a rigid block, four modelling tools were tested. After comparison between the experi mental test results and the numerical calculations, the ''compression- bending'' kinematic model appears to be a promising tool for rapid est imates of crash behaviour of simple structures.