First stop: Reviewing crash-configurations and structural requirements

Amongst the first important deliverables and pieces of research within SALIENT, two deliverables have been finalised towards the end of the year. The two reports are closely inter-related and intertwined and together they will feed into a final task of the first WP:

• Defining future accident and crash scenarios in mixed traffic conditions;

• Establishing technical requirements for structural components of Front-End Structures (FES).

The insights of these reports feed clearly into the final task of the WP (structural and safety level for FES), which will then aid in designing and validating (through simulation and crash tests) a prototype towards the end of the project.

Panda Cross as reference test vehicle

Building block of SALIENT experimental tests

Rear-end collision analysis of autonomous vehicle crashes

The research revealed, that in mixed traffic scenarios including traditional and partially automated vehicles, most crashes are rear-end collisions with the autonomous vehicle. A high dependence on the weight and collision angle has been determined, which highlights the importance of considering different types of vehicles in the further research of this project.

Also, best practices for crash behaviour evaluation and all standards for testing activities have been defined closely. For testing purposes, a oblique frontal impact angle on 10°-30° and the vehicle Panda Cross is considered as an average vehicle. Furthermore, 8 experimental test scenarios have been differentiated to test prototypes, some of which will be tested already in the following months.

1. Task 3.2 - Mechanical testing and characterization (January 2023 - September 2023):

   1. Dynamic bending tests;

   2. Creep tests on metals, composite and hybrid;

   3. Thermo-mechanical and fatigue tests;

   4. Durability tests;

   5. Static tests, damping measurements.

2. Task 6.1 - Component level testing activities (May 2024 - October 2024):

   1. 3-point bending tests;

   2. Dynamic impact axial crush tests.

3. Task 6.2 - Crash test performance (September 2024 - June 2025):

   1. Series of crash tests at 0° frontal collision and oblique crash tests.

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Author: Friederike L. Kühl (Etelätär Innovation)