Simulation of fracture evolution during the opening of an airbag cover

The process of fracture evolution has to be investigated during the opening of an
airbag cover. The principal objective is to simulate crack initiation and propagation
effectively by means of the finite element method. As experimental tests indicate, the
material composites of the airbag flap behaves at least non-linear elastic. Moreover, in real world situations, the adhesion phenomenon between different layers or components is necessary to be taken into account. The crack is represented in a numerical way by means of the phase field method. This method allows for a continuous description of the displacement field and overcomes the strong mesh depends of classical methods

Research topics

• Development and evaluation of an efficient finite element model for the airbag structure including the components for example the lid and foil

• Study on the mechanical behavior of polymer films, derivation and implementation of non-linear elastic material models

• Analysis of adhesion effects and application of cohesive elements

• Derivation and implementation of second order phase-field method to simulate cracks initiation and propagation in small strain and finite strain problems

• Investigation of the cracks initiation and propagation in a 3D model by means of phase-field method

• Research on anisotropic crack criteria of the film and simulation of the anisotropic crack propagation

• Consideration of multi-layered structure of the film material

Funding by the industry

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