Research On A Quantitative Study On The Effects Of The Front-end Styling Of Sport Utility Vehicles On Pedestrian Injuries

The number of sport utility vehicles(SUVs)on the market is continuously increasing.As a result,the number of pedestrian injuries caused by collisions with SUVs will also increase.This study investigated the relationships between the front-end styling features of SUVs and pedestrian impactor responses and considered the pedestrian collision safety performance of SUVs at the styling design stage,which is of great importance to improve the pedestrian protection performance and product development efficiency.In this study,twenty-one styling feature parameters were extracted from the side contour line(the main styling feature line).Based on the front-end styling of 83 SUV models,simplified finite element(FE)models were established.Pedestrian impactor simulations were performed in accordance with the pedestrian testing protocol of the European New Car Assessment Programme(EuroNCAP).The HIC15 values at WAD 1125,WAD 1375,WAD 1650,and WAD2000 were obtained;the values of upper tibia acceleration,knee bending angle,knee shear displacement from the legform to bumper test were obtained;the values of sum of impact forces and bending moment from the upper legform to hood leading-edge tests were obtained.A total of 9 impactor response parameters(ie,injury parameters).With the styling feature parameters as independent variables and the injury parameters as a dependent variables,the styling feature parameters that significantly affected each impactor response parameter were determined using a multiple linear regression analysis method.Regression models were also established.This research showed that:when designing the SUV styling,increasing the WAD of the hood front end,and reducing the angle between the tangent of the hood at the impact point and the horizontal,the WAD of the hood leading edge and hood rear edge,the hood angle,the hood length,and hood radius may help to achieve reasonable performance in protecting pedestrians’ heads;increasing the bumper center height,bumper width,and the secondary bumper leading can reduce the lower limb injury of the SUV with a secondary bumper;increaing the upper bumper height and grille radius,and reducing the lower bumper height can reduce the lower limb injury of the SUV without a secondary bumper;increasing the hood front end height and hood angle,reducing the bumper leading,upper bumper height,and griller radius can help to improve the SUV on the pedestian thigh/pelvis protection performance.In conclusion,the regression equations obtained by multiple linear regression can be used to quantitatively assess the performance of SUV styling in protecting pedestrians,provide styling designers with technical guidance regarding their artistic creations,and improve the performance of SUVs in protecting pedestrians and the product development efficiency.