FIMCAR – INFLUENCE OF SEAS ON FRONTAL IMPACT COMPATIBILITY

The aim of the FIMCAR project (Frontal Impact Compatibility and Assessment Research; co-funded by the European Commission within the 7th Framework Programme) was to develop and validate a frontal impact assessment approach that considers self and partner protection. Regarding the results of the FIMCAR accident analysis, one major issue of frontal impact compatibility is structural interaction. Not all car types have the potential to align their Primary Energy Absorbing Structures (PEAS) with the common interaction zone proposed by FIMCAR. Some cars use Secondary Energy Absorbing Structures (SEAS) to interact with external structures and thereby improve the structural interaction. There is a challenge to evaluate the different structural concepts, and in particular SEAS, in the possible variations of potential impact combinations