CAE EVALUATION OF THE FRONT DOOR INTRUSION PERFORMANCE OF A LIGHT COMMERCIAL VEHICLE ACCORDING TO FMVSS214S STANDARD

<p style="text-align: justify; ">Vehicle safety has become one of the primary focus areas of the automotive industry in linewith global regulations and consumer expectations. Side impact performance is a criticalparameter that directly affects occupant safety, and verification studies in this field cansignificantly influence both prototype costs and overall development time. Therefore,performing virtual validation analyses through Computer-Aided Engineering (CAE) methodsprior to physical testing has great importance. In this study, a CAE analysis of the static sideimpact (front door intrusion) test defined by the FMVSS214s standard was conducted on a lightcommercial vehicle. The aim of the study is to evaluate the compliance of the vehicle’sstructural strength with regulatory requirements, to investigate deformation behaviors in criticalregions, and to obtain engineering insights for potential design improvements. The analyseswere performed using the LS-DYNA finite element solver. The vehicle model consists of Bodyin-White (BIW) and door panel sub-models. Based on the loading conditions specified in theFMVSS214s standard, the deformation response of the body structure under the applied force&nbsp;on the door surface was examined. CAE results were evaluated through the average force–displacement curve in accordance with the limit values defined in the standard. Highdeformation levels were observed in the A and B pillars, door panel, and beam regions;however, no separation occurred at the latch or hinge connections. The obtained resultsdemonstrated that the regulatory requirements were successfully met.&nbsp;