Material point physical model rationale while studying kinematic characteristics of a motor vehicle in case of oblique collision with side cable barriers

Introduction. A review of the application of theoretical mechanics methods for the development of algorithms of approximate analytical simulation of a motor vehicle (MV) movement in case of oblique collision with side cable barriers is performed. The representation of the MV as a material point in this type of collision is validated. The study objective is to demonstrate the application of a physical model of a material point to describe the motor vehicle dynamics in the event of its oblique collision with side cable barrier.Materials and Methods. A new physical model that describes the opposition to the motor vehicle movement from the side of a cable barrier in an oblique collision is proposed. New methods of approximate analytical construction of the MV movements during an oblique collision with the side cable barriers are presented. The analytical calculation results are verified by the data of the finite element (FE) simulation of the collision according to the data of field tests. The FE simulation was carried out using a multi-purpose finite element complex LS-Dyna.Results. New analytical algorithms have been developed for the MV movement in case of an oblique collision with side cable barriers, as well as a new physical model describing the opposition to the MV movement from the side of cable barriers. The application of a physical model of a material point to study the motor vehicle dynamics during an oblique collision with side cable barriers is established scientifically, including the comparative analysis of the kinematic results of the virtual test with kinematic calculations obtained on the basis of algorithms for analytical construction of the MV movements.Discussion and Conclusions. The analysis of the kinematic results of the virtual test in comparison with the analytical kinematic calculations has shown that the representation of a motor vehicle as a material point in case of an oblique collision with side cable barriers is reasonable since the MV movement is close to translational motion. The results obtained can be used in the development and analysis of the correctness of the FE modeling of a side collision of a motor vehicle with cable barriers.