A study on energy absorption panel of bumper based on impact of pedestrian's lower leg

Considering the narrow space between the bumper and the outside skin, the filling foam can't be satisfied with the high standard requirements of pedestrian protection regulations. A scheme is proposed in this paper that using an energy absorption panel (EAP) to replaces the filling foam. Firstly, an impact model of collision between the car and a lower leg is built according to Euro NCAP regulations and verified by simulation and test. Secondly, the filling foam is replaced by an EAP and a full factorial experiment is designed. On this base, the influence law of energy absorption for panel material properties and thickness on crash result was obtained. Studies show that: (1) the replacement is a feasible program to obtain better effect of pedestrian protection; (2) the lower yield strength and thinner panel is not necessarily to obtain the better effect, which can be achieved only by reasonable matching between different material strength and panel thickness.