U.S. Department of Transportation Research and Innovative Technology Administration Volpe National Transportation Systems Center CRASH SAFETY ASSURANCE STRATEGIES FOR FUTURE PLASTIC AND COMPOSITE INTENSIVE VEHICLES (PCIVs) Final Report June 2010 DOT-VNTSC-NHTSA-10-01 Notice This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the Department of Transportation in the interest of information exchange. The United States Government assumes no liability for its contents or use thereof. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center This document contains preliminary information Cambridge, MA 02142 subject to change. 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TITLE AND SUBTITLE Crash Safety Assurance Strategies For Future Plastic and Composite Intensive Vehicles (PCIVs) 6. AUTHOR(S) Graham Barnes BEng CEng MIMechE Ian Coles B.Tech (Hons) Richard Roberts BSc CEng MIMechE Daniel O. Adams, Ph.D. David M. Garner, Jr., Ph.D. 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) Engenuity Limited The Old Hospital, Ardingly Road Cuckfield, West Sussex RH17 5HF Great Britain University of Utah Department of Mechanical Engineering 50 S. Central Campus Drive Salt Lake City, UT 84112 USA 9. SPONSORING/MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) U.S. Department of Transportation National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 11. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES 12a. DISTRIBUTION/AVAILABILITY STATEMENT This document is available to the public through the National Technical Information Service, Springfield, Virginia 22161. 13. ABSTRACT (Maximum 200 words) This report identifies outstanding safety issues and research needs for Plastics and Composite Intensive Vehicles (PCIV) to facilitate their safe deployment by 2020. A PCIV definition is proposed, which ensures that the weight and efficiency objectives are prerequisite. Potential safety benefits of automotive plastics and composites are reviewed, and safety specifications associated with each level of the Building Block approach are presented. Lessons learned from the racing industry and from limited production, high-performance supercars with extensive use of composite materials are summarized. Changes and additions to test and evaluation procedures due to PCIVs are discussed, with a focus on ensuring their compliance with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) . Progress is summarized and research recommendations proposed in three topic areas pertinent to crashworthiness of PCIVs: material databases, crashworthiness test method development, and crash modeling. 14. SUBJECT TERMS Automotive crash safety; plastics and composites intensive vehicles (PCIV); light-weighting advanced materials; crash safety standards 17. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION 18. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION 19. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF REPORT OF THIS PAGE OF ABSTRACT Unclassified Unclassified Unclassified Notice This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the Department of Transportation in the interest of information exchange. The United States Government assumes no liability for its contents or use thereof. PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This report addresses outstanding safety issues and research needs for Plastics and Composite Intensive Vehicles (PCIVs) to facilitate their safe deployment by 2020. PCIVs have the potential to revolutionize the automotive sector; however, the use of plastics and composite materials in automotive structures requires an in-depth knowledge of their unique performance characteristics in the crash and safety environment. Included in this report is a proposed definition of the PCIV, a review of potential safety benefits, lessons-learned, and progress to date towards crashworthiness of PCIVs as well as proposed safety performance specifications and research needs. Special appreciation is due to Dr. Aviva Brecher and Dr. John Brewer from the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe Center) within the DOT Research and Innovative Technologies Administration (RITA), for providing technical support, feedback and guidance during the development of this report. This vehicle safety research project was sponsored by Stephen Summers, Chief and Sanjay Patel of the Structures and Restraints Research Division, National Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA) of the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT). Additionally, the authors acknowledge the Crashworthiness Working Group of the Composite Materials Handbook, CMH-17. This group of researchers has recognized the importance of the dual-emphasis approach of standardization of crashworthiness properties and the evaluation of predictive analysis techniques. The collaboration and dissemination of knowledge within this forum has without doubt accelerated development in these research areas. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. DEFINITION OF A PRELIMINARY SET OF MINIMUM PCIV SAFETY PERFORMANCE SPECIFICATIONS ................................................................11 1.1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................ 11 1.2 THE PLASTIC AND COMPOSITE INTENSIVE VEHICLE (PCIV) ............... 12 1.3 POTENTIAL SAFETY BENEFITS OF PCIVS ............................................. 16 1.3.1 Introduction ......................................................................................... 16 1.3.2 Crashworthiness and Crash Avoidance .............................................. 17 1.3.3 Potential Safety Benefits of Composite Materials ............................... 17 1.3.4 Safety Considerations Related to the Reduced Mass of Composite Materials ........................................................................... 18 1.3.5 Safety Benefits Through the Use of Increased Crush Distance .......... 20 1.3.6 The Relative Safety Benefits of Size Versus Mass ............................. 20 1.4 PROPOSED SAFETY SPECIFICATIONS FOR PCIV S ............................................ 22 1.4.1 Introduction ......................................................................................... 22 1.4.2 Case for PCIV Safety Benefits ........................................................... 23 1.4.3 Building Block Approach for PCIV Structural Components ................. 23 1.4.3.1 Level I. Coupon and Element Level ........................................ 25 1.4.3.2 Level II. Subcomponent and Component Level ...................... 27 1.4.3.3 Level III. Sub-Assembly Level ................................................. 29 1.4.3.4 Level IV. Full-Scale Level ....................................................... 30 2. LESSONS LEARNED FROM COMPOSITES IN HIGH PERFORMANCE CAR APPLICATIONS ....................................................................................................31 2.1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................. 31 2.2 LESSONS LEARNED ....................................................................................... 31 2.2.1 Formula 1 ........................................................................................... 31 2.2.2 Le Mans .............................................................................................. 34 2.2.3 High-End Supercars with Composite Safety Cells .............................. 36 2.2.4 Research and Development Activities on Composite Vehicles .......... 49 2.3 CONCLUSIONS .............................................................................................. 50 3. DEVELOPMENT OF STANDARDIZED TEST AND EVALUATION PROCEDURES52 3.1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................. 52 3.1.1 Candidate materials ............................................................................ 53 3.2 OVERVIEW OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARDS RELEVANT TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF PCIV S ................................................................... 54 3.2.1 Front and Rear Impact ........................................................................ 55 3.2.2 Side Impact ........................................................................................ 55 3.2.3 Roof crush .......................................................................................... 56 3.3 TEST AND EVALUATION PROCEDURES FOR COMPOSITE MATERIALS .................. 56 3.3.1 Sustained Crush Stress ...................................................................... 56 3.3.2 Compressive Strength ........................................................................ 57 3.3.3 Interlaminar Shear Strength ............................................................... 58 3.3.4 Internal Damping ...............................................................................