Optimization of Bumper Structure for Pedestrian Lower Leg Impact

The European Commission is proposing legislation aimed at enabling a pedestrian to survive a frontal impact without serious injury or death with a vehicle travelling at 40 km/h. One aspect of this proposed legislation is reducing the pedestrian's leg injuries due to contact with the bumper and frontal surfaces of a vehicle, assessed using a legform. In this study, the finite element model for legform impactor was developed to investigate the effects of various design parameters on pedestrian lower leg impact. The model is first matched with the result of component test, then matched with the result of the test on actual vehicle. Using this model, the optimization design of bumper structure for lower leg impact was performed. The statistical design support system (SDSS) was applied for the optimization, where the acceleration, bend angle and shear displacement of legform impactor were chosen as the objective functions, and the simultaneous optimization for the functions was carried out.