Car Structure Parameter Identification for CAE Barrier Model Development

Abstract

Frontal collisions between Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) and passenger cars remain a critical safety issue on rural roads due to significant structural and geometrical incompatibilities between the two vehicle types. This study focuses on developing a representative passenger-car surrogate model to support compatibility assessment in car-to-truck crash scenarios, aligned with evolving Euro NCAP protocols. The work involves identifying and categorizing key structural parameters of passenger vehicles—such as load paths, front-end components, and deformation zones—across various European car segments. These parameters are analyzed for geometric varia tion and translated into stiffness-relevant inputs for the development of a simplified CAE barrier model. A structured development process is presented in this work, integrating structural positioning, crash response, and stiffness inputs to propose a concept CAE barrier model that aims to capture realistic vehicle deformation behaviour and energy ab sorption in real-world crashes. Despite limitations related to restricted access to proprietary data and absence of physical testing, the study establishes a structured methodology for stiffness characterization and surrogate modelling. The findings contribute toward improving compatibility evaluation and enhancing Front Under run Protection Device (FUPD) performance in future HGV safety designs.