Occupant and pedestrian safety are critical design aspects. These aspects determine whether a vehicle can be homologated. Therefore thorough prototype testing needs to be done before a vehicle can go to market. However, this testing is expensive and can cause significant delays, especially when problems are discovered. For this reason, vehicle manufacturers try to save prototyping time and cost by doing upfront research and analysis using simulation.
Yet occupant safety simulations can be computationally intensive, especially for long-duration events. With the advent of driverless vehicles, new seating positions and restraints systems are on the increase; compliance in terms of population gender, age, and size is becoming more critical. As a result, the number of relevant testing scenarios (or load cases) keeps on increasing. Therefore engineers need to carefully balance between accuracy, model size and calculation time. They need solutions where they can pick the right method for their problems. When using Simcenter™ Madymo™ software, engineers can apply a variety of simulation techniques, and find a set of validated crash dummy models and human body models in a database. Simcenter Madymo uniquely combines the capabilities of multibody (MB), finite element (FE), and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) in a single CAE solver. This will allow engineers to do all their calculations at a scale that fits the application.
Computational Fluid Dynamics
Simulate Out-of-Position events for deploying airbags, where injuries can result from contact between the occupant and the airbag. By using the Simcenter Madymo’s computational fluid dynamics (CFD) module, engineers can carry out detailed modeling of the flow of fluids, such as gas flowing inside the deploying airbag.
Coupling FE Codes
Couple Simcenter Madymo with other FE codes for safety design or connect with Matlab to include control algorithms and study their effects on the restraint system. Today, Simcenter Madymo can be coupled to LS-DYNA, PAM-CRASH, RADIOSS, and ABAQUS. This enables engineers to continue using Simcenter Madymo crash test dummies, which to date remain the fastest and most accurate dummy models available, while in their preferred FE code. The combined result can then be visualized and post-processed in a single graphical tool.
Dummy Models
Leverage the outcome of decades of R&D, bundled in the most extensive crash test dummy model database available. Simcenter Madymo Dummy Models are famous for their accuracy, as well as their computational speed, robustness, and user-friendliness. The Simcenter Madymo dummy models have been validated on component, assembly and full-system levels using an extensive database of test data. The Simcenter Madymo crash test dummy models have been successfully applied in analysis and design of myriad protective devices in various industries, ranging from Automotive, Aviation, Defense, and Rail.
Finite Element Analysis
Accurately model deformable structures inside the occupant compartment, such as seatbelt, airbag, seat, and trim. Simcenter Madymo’s explicit transient finite element (FE) solver includes an extensive selection of element definitions, material models, and contact algorithms, dedicated for this application.
Human Models
Evaluate and optimize passive and active restraint systems in a wide range of (real-world) loading conditions with CPU-efficient, biofidelic and well-validated human models. Simcenter Madymo features solutions that can predict human responses for conditions no physical crash test dummy exists for. The human model portfolio comprises both passive and active models. This means spine joint restraints and muscles combine passive stiffness characteristics and active control to realistically represent how living human beings respond. The models are multidirectional approved, allowing an analysis of more complicated scenarios. They are currently the only human models on the market that can accurately simulate occupant behavior in pre-crash emergency braking and crash avoidance maneuvers.
Multibody: Rigid Body Dynamics
Perform large parametric design studies by applying a computationally fast method for modelling complex dynamic systems. In Simcenter Madymo Multibody, engineers can describe systems as rigid or deformable bodies, interconnected by kinematic joints. They can assign geometrical, material and contact properties to capture all the physics.
Workspace
Speed up model creation and modification and gain more insight in analysis results by using dedicated pre- and post-processing. Simcenter Madymo Workspace includes special tools for occupant restraint analysis such as a seatbelt fitting module and automated extraction of NCAP star ratings. Pre-processing functionality also includes dedicated occupant safety features such as dummy positioning and seat belt fitting tools. Workspace post-processing functionality covers generic functionality for animation display, contour and graph plotting.
