Finite Element Analysis of Occupant Risk in Vehicular Impacts into Cluster Mailboxes
The deployment of cluster mailboxes (CMs) in the U.S. has raised safety concerns for passengers in potential vehicular crashes involving CMs. This study investigated the crashworthiness of two types of CMs through nonlinear finite element simulations. Two configurations of CM arrangements were consi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Computation |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-3197/13/1/12 |
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| author | Emre Palta Lukasz Pachocki Dawid Bruski Qian Wang Christopher Jaus Howie Fang |
| author_facet | Emre Palta Lukasz Pachocki Dawid Bruski Qian Wang Christopher Jaus Howie Fang |
| author_sort | Emre Palta |
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| description | The deployment of cluster mailboxes (CMs) in the U.S. has raised safety concerns for passengers in potential vehicular crashes involving CMs. This study investigated the crashworthiness of two types of CMs through nonlinear finite element simulations. Two configurations of CM arrangements were considered: a single- and a dual-unit setup. These CM designs were tested on flat-road conditions with and without a curb. A 2010 Toyota Yaris and a 2006 Ford F250, both in compliance with the Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH), were employed in the analysis. The simulations incorporated airbag models, seatbelt restraint systems, and a Hybrid III 50th percentile adult male dummy. The investigations focused on evaluating the safety of vehicle occupants in 32 impact scenarios and under MASH Test Level 1 conditions (with an impact speed of 50 km/h). The simulation results provided insights into occupant risk and determined the primary failure mode of the CMs. No components of the mailboxes were found intruding into the vehicle’s occupant compartment. For all considered cases, the safety factors remained within allowable limits, indicating only a marginal risk of potential injury to occupants posed by the considered CMs. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-3dcbf1ba1e6a43509b715ab65a604ee9 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2079-3197 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Computation |
| spelling | doaj-art-3dcbf1ba1e6a43509b715ab65a604ee92025-01-24T13:27:47ZengMDPI AGComputation2079-31972025-01-011311210.3390/computation13010012Finite Element Analysis of Occupant Risk in Vehicular Impacts into Cluster MailboxesEmre Palta0Lukasz Pachocki1Dawid Bruski2Qian Wang3Christopher Jaus4Howie Fang5Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tekirdag Namik Kemal University, Tekirdag 59030, TurkeyDepartment of Mechanics of Materials and Structures, Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Gdansk University of Technology, 80-222 Gdansk, PolandDepartment of Mechanics of Materials and Structures, Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Gdansk University of Technology, 80-222 Gdansk, PolandDepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Manhattan University, Riverdale, NY 10471, USADepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Liberty University, Lynchburg, VA 24515, USADepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Liberty University, Lynchburg, VA 24515, USAThe deployment of cluster mailboxes (CMs) in the U.S. has raised safety concerns for passengers in potential vehicular crashes involving CMs. This study investigated the crashworthiness of two types of CMs through nonlinear finite element simulations. Two configurations of CM arrangements were considered: a single- and a dual-unit setup. These CM designs were tested on flat-road conditions with and without a curb. A 2010 Toyota Yaris and a 2006 Ford F250, both in compliance with the Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH), were employed in the analysis. The simulations incorporated airbag models, seatbelt restraint systems, and a Hybrid III 50th percentile adult male dummy. The investigations focused on evaluating the safety of vehicle occupants in 32 impact scenarios and under MASH Test Level 1 conditions (with an impact speed of 50 km/h). The simulation results provided insights into occupant risk and determined the primary failure mode of the CMs. No components of the mailboxes were found intruding into the vehicle’s occupant compartment. For all considered cases, the safety factors remained within allowable limits, indicating only a marginal risk of potential injury to occupants posed by the considered CMs.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-3197/13/1/12cluster mailbox (CM)finite element analysisvehicular crashtransportation safetyoccupant safety |
| spellingShingle | Emre Palta Lukasz Pachocki Dawid Bruski Qian Wang Christopher Jaus Howie Fang Finite Element Analysis of Occupant Risk in Vehicular Impacts into Cluster Mailboxes Computation cluster mailbox (CM) finite element analysis vehicular crash transportation safety occupant safety |
| title | Finite Element Analysis of Occupant Risk in Vehicular Impacts into Cluster Mailboxes |
| title_full | Finite Element Analysis of Occupant Risk in Vehicular Impacts into Cluster Mailboxes |
| title_fullStr | Finite Element Analysis of Occupant Risk in Vehicular Impacts into Cluster Mailboxes |
| title_full_unstemmed | Finite Element Analysis of Occupant Risk in Vehicular Impacts into Cluster Mailboxes |
| title_short | Finite Element Analysis of Occupant Risk in Vehicular Impacts into Cluster Mailboxes |
| title_sort | finite element analysis of occupant risk in vehicular impacts into cluster mailboxes |
| topic | cluster mailbox (CM) finite element analysis vehicular crash transportation safety occupant safety |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-3197/13/1/12 |
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