A demonstrator car bumper system consisting of a transversal cross beam connected to two square columns with aluminium foam filler has been designed and experimentally subjected to dynamic loading conditions. The objective of the foam filled crash boxes was to absorb the kinetic energy involved in the crash. Using a drop hammer rig, the bumper system was subjected to two different loading conditions, namely a non-symmetric 40 load overlap as well as to a full contact impact. The foam filled crash boxes showed average forces within #xB1; 10 of that predicted by using existing design formulas. In addition, the non-linear, explicit finite element code LS-DYNA was applied in order to simulate the complete crushing process. Compared to the scatter in the experimental results, the numerical simulations were able to predict the whole crushing of the bumper system with acceptable accuracy.
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