Analytical modeling and collaborative optimization of the dynamic responses for barrier-vehicle-occupant system considering crashworthiness and compatibility

This paper studies the modeling method and collaborative optimization of the dynamic responses for barrier-vehicle-occupant (BVO) system in engineering. The mechanical analytical model of BVO system is established to obtain not only the system dynamic responses but also the evaluation indexes of crashworthiness and compatibility. A collaborative optimization method that combines the BVO model and genetic algorithm is presented to obtain the optimal crash pulse of vehicle. An empirical case of an existing vehicle that has been in running in China is applied to verify this constructed model and solution method. Compared with the results of original alternative, the peak occupant acceleration and occupant load criterion (OLC) of barrier are reduced by 54.65% and 14.07%, respectively, and avoid the barrier bottoming out effectively. In addition, a sensitivity analysis is conducted and the results could be found that the heights about the middle part have a significant impact on occupant injury, OLC, and the middle backward part have a significant impact on the bottoming out of barrier, respectively. In summary, the concave shape crash pulse can improve crashworthiness and compatibility. This research reveals the principles of the BVO system and provides an effective tool to solve the optimization problem in conceptual design of vehicle.