Impact Attenuator Optimum Design for a FSAE Racing Car by Numerical and Experimental Crash Analysis

One of the most important requirements of the Formula SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) race car design competition is that the car structure must guarantee a high protection level in case of frontal impacts, by preventing intrusions into the driver foot zone or dangerous deceleration levels. These functions are mainly performed by the impact attenuators, which have to guarantee a high specific energy absorption capacity (SEA) and in order to preserve vehicle performances, have to be as light weighted as possible. The aim of this study is the design of an impact attenuator, to be mounted on a Formula SAE car, which main purpose is to obtain the optimal crash energy management, maximizing the absorbed energy and optimizing the geometry. The outcome of the study highlights that the absorber structure made up of honeycomb sandwich panels (primary energy absorbers), realized by means of different aluminium alloys employing an innovative design considering particular geometrical cavities within the structure, could lead to reduce the overall weight and to achieve a more progressive deformation during the impact.