Strain Rates in Crashworthiness

Strain rates related tests, strain rates measurements, strain rates states during vehicle collisions, crashworthiness tests and simulations are discussed in the paper. Several papers (on which some of LS-DYNA strain rates options in constitutive models for metals are based) are considered in this paper from an automotive vehicle crashworthiness point of view. Strain rates effect on structure’s metals during explosions are mathematically described in the papers. The objective of crashworthiness is not (like under explosion) to save a structure, but to sacrifice (making failing in a control manner) the structure to save its occupants during vehicle collisions. Sufficiently taking (during crashworthiness design) into account strain rates in vehicle structures during collisions will increase the structures energy absorption capability and increase their occupants’ survival probability.