Design and Analysis of the Bio-Inspired Rear Under-Run Protection Devices for Heavy Truck

Abstract

The rear under-run protection devices (RUPD) could prevent the entry of a small vehicle under rear side of the heavy truck, and decrease the injuries and deaths when the accident occurs. In this paper, a new concept of the mechanical design of heavy truck RUPD is presented based on the bio-inspired method, by analyzing the structure of a kind of sheep horn, which has good capacities of energy absorption and structural strength. Firstly, the space geometry characteristic of the sheep horn in macroscopic view was analyzed. Then the research was focused on its mechanical property, and the microstructure of the horn sample was observed by the scanning electron microscope (SEM). Based on the test results, the structure characteristic and force condition of the horn were discussed. A new RUPD structure was designed in both macro and micro levels using bionic principle. The superior mechanics performance of the sheep horn was transplanted into the new RUPD. Finally, the finite element model for the new RUPD, which is inspired from the sheep horn, was established and analyzed. Simulation results showed that the protection device had better strength characteristic and could effectively protect car occupants in under-run accidents. Therefore, with the remarkable strength performance and simple structure, the bionic RUPD shows the promise for practical application.

Engineering with keratin: A functional material and a source of bioinspiration

“…The above efforts have taken bioinspiration from microscale structural elements of hooves and horns. However, Sun et al. (2014) designed rear under-run protection devices (RUPDs) for heavy trucks inspired by the macroscale geometry of the sheep horn.…”

“…The design was analyzed using a finite element analysis. The authors concluded that, compared to the normal RUPD of the same thickness, the bioinspired design could provide better protection when rear-end accidents happen; this is due to its enhanced energy absorption and structural strength ( Sun et al., 2014 ). Zhang et al.…”

Performance of Rear Under-Ride Protection Device (RUPD) During Car to Heavy Truck Rear Impact

“…Others used finite element method to evaluate a new design of RUPD was based on a bio-inspired method that derived from the structure of sheep horn [17], which had strong structure and good energy absorption capability. The objective of this research was to prevent small car sliding beneath the rear of a heavy truck which could mitigate injuries and death during a car to truck rear impact.…”

A numerical study on thickness of rear under-ride protection in case pick-up to semi-trailer full rear impact

“…In 2013, Joseph et al [1] optimized the structure of the RUPD structure by LS-DYNA and the calculation results for the guard tube were performed, which increased the load capacity of the RUPD. In 2014, Sun et al [2] proposed a type of barrier structure inspired by the cross-section of sheep's horns. As a result, the simulation shows signifi cantly improved force absorption.…”