Development of Safe Hood for Pedestrian Protection

보행자 보호를 위한 안전 후드 개발

Most pedestrian-vehicle crashes involve frontal impacts, and the vehicle front structures are responsible for most pedestrian injuries. The vehicle bumper contacts the lower legs at first. The leading edge of the hood (bonnet) strikes the proximal upper leg and finally, the head and upper torso hit the top surface of the hood or windscreen. In essence, the pedestrian wraps around the front of the vehicle until pedestrian and vehicle are traveling at the same speed. Since the hood surface is made from sheet metal, it is a relatively compliant structure and does not pose a major risk for severe head trauma. However, serious head injury can occur when the head hits a region of the hood with stiff underlying structures such as engine components. The solution is to provide sufficient clearance between the hood and underlying structures for controlled deceleration of a pedestrian's head. However, considerations of aerodynamic design and styling can make it extremely difficult to alter a vehicle's front end geometry to provide more under-hood space. In this study, the safe hood will be developed by designing new conceptual inner panel in order to decrease the pedestrian's head injuries without changing hood outer geometry.