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CHAPTER 5

DEVELOPMENT OF MODEL AND VALIDATION

5.1 DEVELOPMENT OF FINITE ELEMENT MODEL

Crash testing of vehicle (bus) under virtual environment involves

use of dynamic simulation. For this, a model of the entity, in this case FE
model of a intercity bus was developed. Modelling is an art and science. The
results of simulation study depend much on the accuracy of the model
developed by the investigator, assumptions made and boundary conditions
introduced. The Figure 5.1 shows the sequence of operations involved in
building the model. Based on the line drawing details acquired from the bus
body builder a three dimensional (3D) model was developed using CATIA
software. Altair hyper mesh was used as the pre-processor for developing the
FE model from the geometrical data of the bus body.

Any geometrical object can be discretized either automatically or

manually into discrete elements. The final stages of the FE model was
developed using Hypermesh or LS-Prepost program. All the necessary
parameters including boundary conditions, element properties, types of
contact, termination time and many other aspects were defined. When a body
structure is subjected to impact it leads to elastic-plastic deformation. This
results in bending and rotation of contracting bodies with high stress. Hence,
for F.E modelling fully integrated shell elements and construct stress solid
elements have been used. The total number of nodes in the model is 151,259
and it is on par with the model used by the automotive industries. The
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complete FE model after exported into k – file format that was taken as the
input data for LS- DYNA solver. The latest available version in LS DYNA
(R 7.1.1) was used for FE analysis.

Line Drawing of Bus

Structure AutoCAD

3D Modeling of Bus
Structure CATIA

Mesh Generation
HYPERMESH

Pre-Processing of
FE Model
HYPERMESH

FE Model Frontal
Impact analysis
LSDYNA

Post Processing of
Results LS-PRE POST
& HYPERVIEW

Figure 5.1 Steps involved in Finite element model development

The LS – Pre post and Hyper view are the commonly used post
processors for LS DYNA. This allows plotting of graphs, viewing of
intrusions and also for the data processing.
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5.1.1 Geometry of the Body Structure

Figure5.2, 5.3, 5.4show different views of the bus body structure

considered as base line model for analysis. The figure also indicates the
nomenclature used to refer different structural members of the body. Hollow
square tubes of various dimensions that are used for bus body construction for
the configuration considered are listed in Table 5.1.The bus body
specification details are enumerated in Table 5.2.This essentially consist of
major dimensions of the body.

Table5.1 Square tubes of various dimensions

Part name Size (mm)

Main Pillar tube MS 60 X 40 X 3
Top cant Rail MS 60 X 40 X 2.5
Cross Bar MS 75 X 40 X 2.5
Window rail MS 40 X 40 X 2.5
Waist rail MS 60 X 40 X 2.5
Rub rail MS 40 X 40X 2.5
Diagonal bar MS 40 X 40 X 2.5
Skit rail MS 40 X 40 X 2.5
Stump pillar MS 40 X 40 X 2.5
Roof Stick MS 40 X 40 X 2.5
Runners MS 40 X 40 X 2.5
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Figure 5.2 Schematic side view of the bus body structure

Figure 5.3 Top view of base structure

Figure 5.4 Front view of the bus structure

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Table 5.2 Bus Specification

Total Number of Seats 42 + 2

Number of doors 2
Engine Location Front
Number of tires 6
Bus Dimension
Length 10528.473 millimeters
Width 2601.385 millimeters
Height 3064.909 millimeters
Wheel Track 2464.752 millimeters
Wheel Base 5334.248 millimeters
Mass of the Baseline Bus Model 8153 kilograms

Based on the geometric details obtained from the bus body builder
a CAD bus model was developed by using CATIA software. The roof and
floor cross members, front and rear structure, sheet metal body panels are
developed separately and assembled in the assembly module. Geometric
model is as shown in the figure 5.5

Figure 5.5 Geometric model of the bus

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5.1.2 Element, Mesh Selection and Model Features

Front and sides

In the finite element model developed the front portion of the of bus
is modeled(Impact zone) using 10mm fine mesh, middle portion of the bus
model with 20mm mesh and rear of the bus model with course mesh of 40mm.
While Figure 5.6 shows the meshed model of frontal structure and
the Figure 5.7 gives element sizes of front, middle and rear portions of the bus.

Figure 5.6 Meshed model of the frontal structure

Mid of Bus model Front of Bus model (Impact

Rear Bus model Zone
Element Size = 20mm zone)
Element Size = 40mm
Element Size = 10mm

Figure 5.7 Side view of the meshed model

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The total number of elements of baseline bus model shell is

151,259.The model was meshed as per the quality criteria specified in table
5.3. From a crash analysis point of view, it is not necessary to keep all the
CAD features regarding meshing requirements. Some of the CAD features
and geometry details, which have little effect on analysis, can be simplified or
neglected without losing much of accuracy. Usually the mesh size is one of
the major factors to decide the accuracy of the results. Time step is necessary
for LS- DYNA explicit analysis. Time step is the time taken for the sound
wave to propagate through an element and it depends on the minimum
element length. A time step of 4.8 x 10-6 is specified in this analysis to reduce
mass scaling less than 5% of the bus as followed in industries as a best
practice.

Fillets and holes

Figure 5.8 give the details of meshing of fillets. For example, while
modeling the fillets following conditions considered in pursurance of Hyper
mesh user’s manual (2013).

Radii < A*0.7 mm should be neglected

Radii <=1.2*A*0.7 mm are modeled with one row of elements in the corner

Radii > 1.2*A*0.7 mm are modeled with minimum two rows of elements in
the corner, where A is the mesh size

Figure 5.8 Meshing of fillets

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Holes are modeled by keeping all the holes in the critical load path
and in other parts neglecting the holes of diameter< A*0.7 mm.

The following criteria adopted in modeling flanges

Flange width < 0.5*A mm should be neglected

Flange width < 1.3*A mm are modeled with one row of elements

Table 5.3Mesh Quality Criteria

Element type
Mesh Quality Criteria
2D 3D
Warpage < 15 < 20
Aspect Ratio <5 <5
Jacobian > 0.5 > 0.5
Min angle of Quad > 40 > 40
Max angle of Quad < 140 < 140
Min angle of Tria > 20 > 15
Max angle of Tria < 120 < 120
Skew < 60 < 60
Min element length > 5mm > 5mm
% of Tria < 10 % -----
Questionable connectivity No No
Duplicates No No
Free edge No No
Penetration No No
Intersection No No
Source: Hypermesh user’s manual (2013)
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Wherever Connection between tubes of different dimension are

involved, equivalence has been ensured for exact connectivity between them
as shown in Figure5.9.

Figure 5.9 Connection between structural members

Tyres and suspension

The Floor is rigidly connected to the structure directly. Figure 5.10

shows the revolute joint and is modeled in tyre. Furthermore; it is allowed to
rotate freely about its own axis providing contact between the road surface
and the vehicle. The F.E model of tyres is shown in Figure 5.11.

Revolute joint

Figure 5.10 Revolute joint with tyre structure

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Figure 5.11 Finite element model of the tyre

The Leaf spring is connected to the Chassis through spring

elements as shown in Figure 5.12 below

Figure 5.12Modeling of leaf spring element with chassis

The finite shell elements are modeled with ELFORM 16 – (fully

integrated shell element). Shear correction factor (SHRF) is set to 5/6 for
isotropic elements and the number of integration points (NIP) set to 5.The
finite solid elements are modeled with ELFORM 1 – constant stress solid
element.
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Material Properties

Material properties for various components are assigned as follows:

i) The Elastic – Plastic Materials are set to type MAT24 with

Stress – Strain curves for the Chassis structure, Hyper mesh
user’s manual (2013).

ii) The Rigid Materials are set to type MAT20 for Engine and
Differential Housing.

iii) Spring elements have been modeled with MAT200 .(Front and
Rear Leaf spring suspension)

The contact parameters assigned for the bus model include,

i) Automatic Single Surface contact across the bus model for all
structural parts.

ii) Automatic Single Surface contact between the front structure

parts and rigid wall.

Force Transducer Penalty has been used to measure the force in all
chassis components. Spot weld contact is defined between Structural parts
and spot weld elements.

Structural members and Skin

While figure 5.13 shows Finite Model of structural members, the

Figure 5.14 give complete details of the bus assembly. The detail of the outer
skin of the bus body structure is shown in Figure 5.15.
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Floor and Seating

The finite element model of the floor and the seat is shown in
Figure 5.16 and the roof structure of the bus is shown in Figure 5.17.
The Figure 5.18gives the sectional view of the base line model at section XX.

Figure 5.13 Finite element model of the bus structural members

Figure 5.14 Finite element model of the complete bus assembly

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Figure 5.15Finite element model of the outer skin of the bus

Figure 5.16 Finite element model of the floor and the seat structure
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Figure 5.17 Finite element model of the roof assembly

Figure 5.18 Sectional view of the baseline (SST) model of the bus

5.1.3 Software Selection

CATIA is popular modelling and analysis software used by many

automotive industries. In this research study to develop 3D model of the
structure of the bus body configured, CATIA was used. Altair hyper mesh
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being an efficient pre and post processor was used for mesh development.
Altair hyper mesh is a high performance pre and post processor which can
support many of the solvers. This allows the users to analyse any design in the
most interactive environment. Hypermesh’s user interface is easy to learn and
which supports any CAD geometry files and finite element model files with
the help of translators. An advanced functionality within the hyper mesh
allows the user to mesh any complicated models. The functionality includes
the setting of mesh quality criteria, morphing to vary the mesh thickness and
automatic mid surface extraction. Automated meshing and batch meshing
with the selection of proper elements saves the time required for meshing.
Some of the key benefits of using the hyper mesh software are

Reduce the time required for conducting the engineering

analysis through high performance pre and post processing

Open architecture design and customization functionality

allows the hyper mesh to fit in to any type of environment.

The modelling process for complex geometries was simplified

based on auto meshing.

Finally, the efficiency of the end user is improved by using the

batch mesher technology.

The solver selected for F.E analysis in this research study is

LS-DYNA (R7.1.1).The LS- DYNA is a non linear explicit finite element
code used to analyse the behaviour of the structure under dynamic loading
conditions. It has the capability of fully automated contact analysis and error
checking features enable the users to solve many complex problems. The
LS- DYNA has many solution procedures to simulate the physical behaviour
of the structure which include contact, crack propagation, acoustics etc. The
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under integrated shell and solid elements, zero energy modes are controlled
by hour glass stiffness.

5.1.4 Loads and Boundary Conditions

Following the Automotive Industry standard (AIS- 52) an initial

velocity of 58 kmph is applied to the bus body structure. The gravity load of
bus has been taken into account by existing facility in the software. The road
surface is represented as a rigid plane and the bus positioned over the rigid
plane restricting the movement of the bus below the rigid plane. The front
rigid barrier is represented as a rigid wall for the full frontal impact as shown
in Figure 5.19.It is assumed that the rigid barrier is non-elastic and do not
absorb energy due to collision.

Figure 5.19 The Bus model with rigid barrier

5.2 MODELVALIDATION

Validation is the process of conforming that the computer

simulations adequately represent the physical phenomena of the real world
situation modelled. The parameters considered for validating the bus model
comprise matching the CG location of the bus specified by the manufacturer,
mass properties of the bus and finally the energy balance of the simulations
(FDOT 2007).
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5.2.1 Energy Balance in Frontal Impact

Figure5.20Energy balance in frontal impact

Lawrence etal (2010) validated their model based on tracking the

energy balance during the whole process of simulation. The model should
satisfy the principle of energy conservation during the frontal impact
accidents. Kinetic energy is transformed to zero due to elastic plastic
deformation of the bus body structure and deceleration. The internal energy
include elastic strain energy and the work done in permanent deformation.
Total energy is the summation of internal energy, kinetic energy, contact,
hour glass, system damping energy and rigid wall energy. Based on the above
approach the energy balance for the current research model was plotted as
shown in Figure 5.20 and found balance.

5.2.2 Mass and CG Properties of Bus Body

Crash and safety testing standard FDOT (2007) considered the

coordinates of centre of gravity location and the mass properties for validating
the model. The values of mass and the coordinates of centre of gravity of the
finite element model should be within 5% error of the physical values. The
Figure 5.21 shows the location of the centre of gravity of the bus and its
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coordinates. The values for the finite element model are X= 5030 mm,
Y= - 18.4 mm and Z = 480 mm. The mass of the finite element model of the
bus is measured as 8153 kilograms. The corresponding values as gathered
from the bus body builder are X = 5048 mm, Y = - 17.8 mm and Z = 472 mm.
The mass of the bus is 8350 kilograms. The variation between the finite
element model and the actual bus is 0.35% t0 3.37% .It may be noted that the
above values are very closer to the physical data provided by the
manufacturer.

CG

Figure 5.21 Center of gravity locations of the bus model

5.3 ALTERNATIVE DESIGNS CONSIDERED FOR CRASH

ANALYSIS

To ensure the safety of occupants of the bus and also to minimize

damage to the structure, the impact energy transmitted should be kept as low
as possible. In order to minimize the impact, it is important to dissipate the
energy developed due to collisions by absorbing energy by the structure. For
this, suitable alternative designs have been considered. One of the alternatives
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considered is use of circular tubular section instead of having square tubular

section. Based on the full frontal impact analysis results, the square tube bus
structure considered as the base line model and the design changes were
carried out in this model in order to increase the crash worthiness of the
frontal structure.

Figure 5.22 CAD model of the square tube with different notches

A notch refers to any geometric contour that disrupts the force flow
through the part. A notch can be a hole, a groove, a fillet or an upright change
in cross section or any disruption to the smooth contour of the part. Notch is
the place where crack get initiated due to stress concentration at the tip.
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Failure occurs much behind the yield stress of the material (RobertL Norton
1998).As alternative designs to improve the crashworthiness, notches such as
rectangular, circular and V- notches as shown in Figure 5.22 were introduced
in the square tube and were analyzed separately to assess the energy
absorbing capabilities. Figure 5.23 and 5.24 show the details of the bus body
structure with V- notches to study whether it evolves better absorption of
energy.

V- notch

Figure 5.23 Finite element model of the SVN bus

Figure 5.24Finite element model of V- notches

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In order to improve the crashworthiness of the bus structure

provision of a crush box in between the radiator and the front bumper was
considered as another alternative design. Figures 5.26 and 5.27 shows the
details of crush box used in the frontal structure for absorbing more energy
during frontal collisions.

Crush box

Figure 5.25 Finite element model of the SCB bus

Figure 5.26Enlarged view of Finite element model of the crush box