Numerical study of a hybrid wire-net bonnet for pedestrian safety

The key points in the automotive design nowadays are safety and reduction of pollutant emissions. In particular, regarding the safety, the attention is focused on the protection of vulnerable road users, pedestrians and cyclists. Concerning the pollutant emissions one of the main targets is weight reduction of the vehicles in order to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions. In this frame, in this work, an innovative solution for a bonnet of a medium size car is proposed and developed. This solution is characterized by an inner structure with a specific net design which allow to increase the absorption of energy in case of impact against the pedestrian head. In the work the solution is developed and finally designed by means of FE simulations and optimization processes. To evaluate the safety performance also the rotational accelerations of the pedestrian head have been taken into considerations. The final developed solutions allow to obtain consistent reductions in terms of structure’s weight and risk of injuries to the pedestrian head.