Modular Impact Attenuator for Roadside Safety
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional roadside impact attenuators face limitations in length due to transportation requirements, which restricts the deceleration distance and increases G-forces experienced by vehicle occupants during collisions, necessitating an improved solution for safety and transportability.
Innovation Solution
The impact attenuator features a modular energy absorption body with moveable parts and multiple cutting edges that extend and split upon collision, allowing for maximum lengthening of the deceleration distance while enabling compact transportation configurations, utilizing thin-walled beams and guided movement to enhance safety and ease of use.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of moving object
If the length of the energy absorption body is increased to extend deceleration distance, then safety is improved, but transportability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The energy absorption body is divided into multiple separable parts that can be disconnected and stored in a compact configuration for transport, then reconnected to form a long deceleration path during operational use. This segmentation allows the system to achieve both long deceleration distance and compact transport dimensions.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions between two dynamic states: a compact stored state for transport and a deployed extended state for operation. The energy absorption body can be dynamically reconfigured from a compact arrangement to a long deceleration path, allowing the same structure to satisfy both transportability and safety requirements at different times.
2Duration of action of moving object
If the length of the attenuator structure is increased to lengthen deceleration time, then G-forces are reduced, but the total length is limited by transportation requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The attenuator structure is segmented into multiple parts that can be stored compactly and deployed to form a long deceleration path. During transport, the parts are arranged in a compact configuration that fits transportation constraints, while during operation they are arranged to provide extended deceleration time.
Solution Approach 2:
The energy absorption parts are designed to nest within each other during storage, with smaller parts fitting inside larger ones. This nesting arrangement minimizes the total length during transport while allowing the parts to be unnested and arranged in a long sequence during operation to provide extended deceleration time.
3Loss of energy
If multiple cutting edges are used to split multiple parts, then energy dissipation is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The energy absorption body is segmented into multiple parts, each with its own cutting edge. This segmentation allows energy to be dissipated through multiple cutting actions as each part is sequentially split, increasing total energy dissipation while keeping each individual cutting edge relatively simple.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple cutting edges are combined into a single integrated cutting mechanism or assembly that can act on multiple parts. This merging approach allows the system to achieve improved energy dissipation through multiple cuts while avoiding the complexity of completely separate cutting systems for each part.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design extends the deceleration distance, reducing G-forces and improving safety by allowing a more gradual deceleration of colliding objects while maintaining compact transport dimensions, ensuring predictable deformation behavior and easy conversion between operational and transport configurations.
Implementation Method 1
configured to at least partly absorb or dissipate energy from a collision of an object with the impact head
Implementation Method 2
the absorbed energy is (at least partly) dissipated by the splitting action of the cutting edges, which plastically deforms the energy absorption body
Implementation Method 3
causes friction that generates thermal energy (heat)
Implementation Method 4
the first cutting edge is arranged for splitting the first part of the energy absorption body, and the second cutting edge is arranged for consecutively splitting the second part of the energy absorption body
Implementation Method 5
the first and second part are mutually moveable... the individual parts of the energy absorption body extend substantially behind each other in a lengthwise direction
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5~6
AI summary
The following invention relates to an impact attenuator for roadside application, suited for reducing the severity of a collision by absorbing at least part of the kinetic energy of an object, and specifically a vehicle, colliding with the impact attenuator. Said impact attenuator comprises: an energy absorption body comprising a first part and a second part extending substantially lengthwise behind each other, wherein the first and second part are mutually moveable; and a first and a second cutting edge, wherein, upon impact, the first cutting edge is arranged for splitting the first part of the energy absorption body and the second cutting edge is arranged for consecutively splitting the second part of the energy absorption body. The invention furthermore relates to a vehicle comprising such an impact attenuator, a trailer comprising such an impact attenuator and a guardrail comprising such an impact attenuator.