Mathematical modeling of vehicle frontal crash by a double spring-mass-damper model

This paper presents development of a mathematical model to represent the real vehicle frontal crash scenario. The vehicle is modeled by a double spring-mass-damper system. The front mass m₁ represents the chassi of the vehicle and rear mass m₂ represents the passenger compartment. The physical parameters of the model (Stiffness and dampers) are estimated using Nonlinear least square method (Levenberg-Marquart algorithm) by curve fitting the response of a double spring-mass-damper system to the experimental displacement data from the real vehicle crash. The model is validated by comparing the results from the model with the experimental results from real crash tests available.