Projects/Heavy Vehicle Research Center

H03 Heavy Vehicle Infrastructure Asset Interaction and Collision

completed

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This research was performed to update and enhance the kinematic and structural accuracy of the National Crash Analysis Center’s Ford F800 single-unit truck Finite Element (SUT FE) model. The research evaluated the model’s ability to accurately simulate interaction with roadside safety hardware and to identify areas of possible improvements. The research also aimed to establish a methodology for validation and verification of the finite element models used in roadside hardware analysis so that it could be applied to other vehicle finite element models currently under development.

An interactive, web-based User’s Manual of the SUT FE model was developed to facilitate use of the model. The model is a good starting point for the 18,000-pound single-unit truck model for researchers and designers of roadside safety devices. The goal of the 3D effect was to make the model more accessible to the end users and to facilitate transfer of developed models and technologies to them.

The research was performed under the direction of NTRCI for the U.S. Department of Transportation/Federal Highway Administration as a collaborative effort by Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Battelle Memorial Institute, and National Crash Analysis Center.