There is increasing concern with the growing number of pedestrians struck by motor vehicles. Honda is actively researching systems to reduce the level of injuries sustained during these collisions. This paper addresses vehicles with bumpers at a pedestrian’s thigh height, such as vans and sport utility vehicles. The goal of this research was to predict upper legform forces due to bumper impacts and analyze bumper system concepts for minimizing these forces.

This research was performed through MADYMO simulations of an upper legform impacting a vehicle’s bumper system. These simulations facilitated detailed evaluation of this complex impact event and rapid analysis of designs prior to the construction of prototype components. Initial activity examined a traditional bumper system for which test data was available. This provided a baseline simulation for correlation of the computer model. Performance of various pedestrian friendly concepts was examined until a design that met the performance targets was achieved. This design utilizes a deformable steel member attached to the main bumper beam. This deformable steel member absorbs the impact energy, thereby reducing the peak forces on the upper legform.