Numerical and theoretical investigation of crack propagation in the windshield in collision with a dummy headform

Studies show that the impact of the pedestrian head and windshield is a significant contributing factor to casualties in traffic accidents. Accordingly, investigating the mechanical response of the windshield and its failure mechanism is of significant importance in enhancing the safety of pedestrians in car accidents. This study conducted the pedestrian protection head impact test to determine the fracture mode of the windshield, acquire the acceleration curve of the headform impactor, and accurately obtain the peak acceleration and Head Injury Criterion (HIC). Subsequently, to quickly predict HIC and facilitate structural selection in designing automobiles, a theoretical analysis model for predicting peak acceleration was established and validated against the test results. To analyze the damage mechanism in detail, finite element analysis software LS-DYNA was employed to simulate the crack propagation in the windshield based on the peridynamics theory. Through a comparison between the numerical simulation and experimental results, the accuracy of the bond-based peridynamics model was verified, accurately revealing its failure mode and mechanical response to impact. Meanwhile, the peak acceleration and HIC were effectively predicted, which provided an effective approach for vehicle safety evaluation and design.