Safety Assessment and Crash Compatibility of Heavy Quadricycle under Frontal Impact Collisions

Suphanut Kongwat, Thonn Homsnit, Chaimongkol Padungtree, Naphon Tonitiwong, Pornkasem Jongpradist and Pattaramon Jongpradist ()
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Suphanut Kongwat: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok 10140, Thailand
Thonn Homsnit: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok 10140, Thailand
Chaimongkol Padungtree: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok 10140, Thailand
Naphon Tonitiwong: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok 10140, Thailand
Pornkasem Jongpradist: Construction Innovations and Future Infrastructures Research Center, Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok 10140, Thailand
Pattaramon Jongpradist: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok 10140, Thailand

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 20, 1-25

Abstract: An electric heavy quadricycle, categorized as an L7e vehicle, is an alternative solution for sustainable mobility with a lower carbon footprint and high energy consumption efficiency. However, accidental crashes of quadricycles with larger vehicle opponents can cause extensive damage to their structures and fatal injury to the occupants due to their geometry drawback in limited space in the front crumple zone. This work investigates the crashworthiness performance and safety assessment of the L7e vehicle under rigid wall crash tests and crash compatibility in car-to-car collisions with a sedan and an SUV. Crash scenarios are simulated using a nonlinear finite element analysis via LS-DYNA to evaluate structural crashworthiness and occupant injuries of a hybrid III 50th percentile male dummy. The compatible vertical alignment of the primary energy-absorbing structure substantially affects the safety of the quadricycle under a frontal crash. A secondary energy-absorbing component should be adapted to the L7e vehicle to achieve vertical alignment with different vehicle sizes. In addition, the typical rigid-wall frontal crash test at 50 kph considerably underestimates the structural damage and occupant injury of the L7e vehicle compared to car-to-car collisions. Thus, additional crash tests representing car-to-car collisions that account for the car’s smaller size and lighter mass should be included in the safety regulation for the L7e vehicle.

Keywords: frontal crash; heavy quadricycle; structural crashworthiness; crash compatibility; occupant safety (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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