Poulter Laboratory performed a study to develop a high fidelity model of a Ford Crown Victoria for performing crashworthiness simulations. This study was part of an overall program sponsored by National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to develop a set of crash models for various vehicles that represent the full range of vehicle types currently on the road. This set of vehicle models can then be used to establish the crash safety of future light-weight vehicles developed under the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV) program.

The overall program to develop a high-fidelity crash simulation model for the Ford Crown Victoria was a combined effort of MGA Reasearch Corporation and SRI International under the management of the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (VNTSC). MGA performed component validation tests on the Crown Victoria and had previously performed vehicle frontal and side impact tests. Component tests for this program included a front bumper impact test, a driver side door impact test and a vehicle frame frontal sled impact test.

The finite element crash model development was performed at SRI International. The preliminary phase in the development of a crash simulation model is the vehicle tear-down and measurement of the structural geometries. An illustration of the Crown Victoria in this tear-down process is shown in Figure 1. Once the nonstructural components are removed from the vehicle, tape is applied to the components to discretize the structure prior to measurement. An illustration of the Crown Victoria with exterior surfaced discretized is shown in Figure 2.

These measured surfaces were then modified to an appropriate format for use in the vehicle model mesh generation program TrueGrid. Some of the external surfaces for the vehicle are plotted by TrueGrid in Figure 3. These digitized surfaces can then be used to generate the vehicle components in the finite element model. Some of the finite element model components along with additional vehicle surface definitions are shown in Figure 4.

In addition to the vehicle model development, preliminary simulations of components were performed to assist in the test planning and model validation with the component validation tests. The vehicle component tests include the front bumper rigid pole impact test, the front door rigid pole impact test, and the vehicle frame rigid wall impact test.

Figure 1 Ford Crown Victoria Vehicle Tear-Down Process Initial Phase of Digitization

Figure 2 Ford Crown Victoria Vehicle Discretization Phase II of Digitization

Figure 3 Ford Crown Victoria Vehicle Discretization Phase III of Digitization

Figure 4 Ford Crown Victoria Model Development