The application of energy-absorbing structures on side impact protection systems

This paper presents a system to improve the protection to the occupants of a World Rally Championship Car in case of a side impact involving a tree collision using energy absorbing structures. An outline of the immediate events after the car crash into a tree are provided followed by an analysis of a typical standard rollcage, then the design criteria and features of a carefully selected design concept. The design model is produced using solid modelling/I-DEAS 11 softwares and PAMCrash is used for the simulations. The simulation results show side impact protection system is capable of absorbing and dissipating 98% of the energy of a 14 m/s impact involving a 0.2