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BMW STAYS AHEAD OF CAR SAFETY REQUIREMENTS
11 October 2004 - ESI Group
| At BMW, thousands of highly complex simulations have to be performed every year to test the overall crashworthiness of vehicles. Beyond the requirements of current regulations, BMW has selected ESI Group's H-Model, a digital model of the human body, to get a better understanding of possible human injuries in side impact scenarios. In partnership with the Munich Institute for Forensic Medicine, BMW has been able to investigate, for complex impact configurations, the differences between a mechanical physical dummy and the human body simulated by the H-Model. |
At BMW, thousands of highly complex simulations have to be performed every year to test the overall crashworthiness of vehicles. Beyond the requirements of current regulations, BMW has selected ESI Group's H-Model, a digital model of the human body, to get a better understanding of possible human injuries in side impact scenarios. In partnership with the Munich Institute for Forensic Medicine, BMW has been able to investigate, for complex impact configurations, the differences between a mechanical physical dummy and the human body simulated by the H-Model. Current safety regulations require mechanical dummies for all full-scale crash tests whether they use physical or virtual prototypes. Providing valuable insight into crash dynamics and occupant kinematics, digital simulation with dummy models is commonly used for safety features design. But as dummies have to fulfill the requirements of technical measuring devices, like durability and repeatability, they do not enable designers to understand injury mechanisms. Developed by ESI Group and Integrated Professional System International, a software company, with major automakers and research centers in the automotive industry, the H-Model contains a deformable skeleton with thoracic and abdominal organs, flesh, skin, muscles and ligaments. Based on deformable finite element parts, this model provides a deep insight into human body behavior in real-life situations. The EuroNCAP lateral barrier test, with airbag, was simulated using a PAM-CRASH model of the vehicle. A first simulation with the FAT Eurosid dummy model enabled to evaluate loads, accelerations and injury indices. The H-model replaced then the mechanical dummy. The behaviors of the dummy model and of the H-Model were similar. Comparison of lower rib deflections, vertebrae and pelvis accelerations, showed similar results for both models. Slight differences were found for the upper ribs and the spine. The H-Model gave valuable, additional information about possible injury mechanisms, which could not be depicted by the dummy model. Similar results were obtained for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration lateral crash test. Considering the complexity of the human body and of real crash simulations, BMW is now planning to focus on the further validation of the H-Model, using well documented injuries from real-world accidents.
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About: ESI Group
ESI Group is the world leading software editor for the numerical simulation of prototype and manufacturing process engineering in applied mechanics. The key to ESI Group's success is the use of realistic material physics, providing "as good as real" virtual solutions, in order to replace the lengthy trial and error processes on real prototypes.ESI Group has developed an entire suite of coherent industry-oriented applications to realistically simulate a product's behavior during testing, to fine tune the manufacturing processes in synergy with the desired product performance, and to evaluate the environment's impact on product usage. ESI Group's product portfolio, which has been industrially validated and combined in multi-trade value chains, represents a unique collaborative, virtual engineering solution, known as the Virtual Try-Out Space (VTOS), enabling a continuous improvement on the virtual prototype. By drastically reducing costs and development lead times, VTOS solutions offer major competitive advantages by progressively eliminating the need for physical prototypes. A sustained growth Total consolidated revenue for fiscal year 2003, ending January 31st 2004, increased by 15% in real terms and 22% at constant exchange rates, compared to the previous year reaching 49 million euro. The software activity remained stable with 73% from licenses and 27% from services. The major acquisitions made in 2002 and 2003 accounted for 15% of revenue growth and took part in the strengthening of the Group's position on the American market. As in previous years, ESI Group maintained a strong international presence with 50% of turnover generated outside Europe and 79% of revenue outside. Listed on the Nouveau Marché of Euronext Paris, ESI Group employs almost 500 high-level specialists worldwide.
ESI Group and its global network of agents provide sales and technical support to customers in more than 30 countries. A key investment area: Research and Development ESI Group is making substantial R&D efforts and forms partnerships with leading academic and research laboratories in order to offer state-of-the-art solutions. ESI Group also provides high value-added services, worldwide through its subsidiaries located in Europe, Asia and Americas. Consulting projects with strategic industrial partners as well as European R&D contracts exemplify ESI Group's strong engineering knowledge and scientific expertise. |
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