Non-linear continuous-contact-force model for low-speed front-to-rear vehicle impact

摘要

The most common kind of vehicular accident is the low-speed front-to-rear impact that results in a high proportion of insurance claims and whiplash-associated disorders. The low-speed collisions have specific characteristics that differ from high-speed collisions and must be treated differently. This paper presents a fundamental non-linear continuous-contact-force model for the low-speed front-to-rear impact to simulate the accelerations, the velocities, and the contact force as functions of time. A smoothed Coulomb frictional force is used to represent the effect of braking, which was found to be significant in simulating low-speed front-to-rear impact. The intervehicular contact force is modelled using non-linear damping and spring elements with coefficients and exponents. This paper presents a method of estimating analytically the stiffness and damping coefficients. The exponent of the non-linear contact force model was determined to match the overall acceleration pulse shape and magnitude. The model can be used to determine AV values and peak accelerations for the purpose of accident reconstruction and for injury biomechanics studies.