Development of Structural Countermeasures for NHTSA’s Oblique Impact

Crash test results have shown that vehicles which receive good ratings in existing co-linear consumer information tests still may require structural modifications for good performance in NHTSA’s frontal oblique test procedure. The purpose of this study was to determine incremental vehicle structural change requirements and their associated mass and cost to significantly reduce occupant compartment intrusion. An available finite element model of a mid-size sedan was updated and validated using data from a 2015 Toyota Camry. The generated baseline model correlated well with the New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) full overlap test, NHTSA’s left and right oblique impact tests, and with the IIHS small and moderate overlap crash configurations. An iterative optimization process was used to develop necessary countermeasures to reduce occupant compartment intrusion according to defined design goals for the left and right oblique impact configuration. No unintended consequences, i.e. no considerable increase of vehicle pulse for oblique and co-linear load cases were observed. The associated added mass was 10.8kg and the associated cost was $30. Occupant risk analysis was not part of this study. Additional research in concert with restraint systems and occupants would ensure that the optimized structure does not adversely affect the measured occupant injury predictions.