SOLVING CAUCHY PROBLEM FOR MODELLING THE DYNAMICS OF VEHICLE-FIXED BARRIER COLLISIONS BY THE FINITE ELEMENT METHOD AND THE EFFECT OF FORCES OF INERTIA ON PASSENGERS

Dynamic investigation of vehicle collisions with stationary obstacles in most cases concerns solutions to complex tasks related to identification of occupant position in the vehicle. The focus of the study is on how forces of inertia change their magnitude and direction during car motion. This requires specific analysis done by dividing vehicle trajectory into separate stages according to certain indicators, such as free motion, impact process, post-impact residual motion. Particular attention has been paid to the impact itself, in which the forces of inertia are the most intense, and their magnitude and direction change abruptly. Solution to Cauchy problem has been found, in which initial kinematic parameters of the crash process are considered, satisfying the kinematic values at rest position. Dynamic analysis of the impact phase of a vehicle-fixed barrier collision has been performed by the finite element method using the software product Abaqus/Explicit.