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21st International Conference on Applied Mechanics and Mechanical Engineering IOP Publishing
Journal of Physics: Conference Series 2811 (2024) 012014 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/2811/1/012014

Frontal bumper beam of automobile vehicle analysis by using

different materials

A M Mysarh1, M shamekh2 and M H Abdelshafy2

1
Master, Military Technical College, Cairo, Egypt
2
Military Technical College, Cairo, Egypt
2
Military Technical College, Cairo, Egypt
a.mysarh@mtc.edu.eg

Abstract. An automotive bumper is a key component designed to protect passengers from front and
rear collisions. Bumpers serve a crucial function in absorbing collision forces to protect both the
vehicle and its occupants. The ABAQUS/Explicit code is used to investigate the influence of the
bumper beam parameters on their impact resistance. Eight materials (4 metallic and 4 composite)
were compared to see how material modifications would improve outcomes and determine the
optimal bumper beam material. Four bumper designs (profile-A, profile-B, profile-C, and profile-D)
were compared to see how design adjustments would improve outcomes and discover the optimum
bumper beam configuration.

1. Introduction
The front and back of an automobile are protected by bumpers, which may be constructed of steel,
aluminum, rubber, or plastic. The bumper system works to minimize or eliminate damage to the vehicle in
the case of a low-speed accident. In the event of a collision, the occupants within the car are protected by
the bumper at the back or front of the vehicle [1]. Automobile bumper beams are mostly made of two
different kinds of materials. One is materials that produce lightweight effects by lowering the thickness of
the anti-collision beam and enhancing the mechanical qualities of materials, such as high-strength steel
material. Another is a material that makes the structure as efficient as possible to achieve a weight reduction
by lowering its density, such as carbon fiber composite materials, etc. [2].
Wang et al. [3] developed the impact resistance experiment using building blocks and then replicated the
3D micromechanical material constitutive relation as a customized subroutine (UMAT) in
ABAQUS/Standard. They accurately predicted mechanicals and deformations by employing a multivariate
method. Using a validated FEM and material parametric model, they examined the macroscale cost and
crashworthiness of an EV composite bumper subsystem.
Nitin K. et al. [4] evaluated three-point bending bumper beam prototypes. Since cars slow down or stop
while parking, the three-point is warranted and advised. The bumper beam BB-1 design is suggested since
it is more appropriate for Indian passenger cars and the results of the three-point bending test. This design
resembles a truss because the little beams are linked at their ends and can absorb more energy, in contrast
to the BB-2 and BB-3, which progress towards the plane wall.

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21st International Conference on Applied Mechanics and Mechanical Engineering IOP Publishing
Journal of Physics: Conference Series 2811 (2024) 012014 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/2811/1/012014

Xue et al. [5] performed the study using a low-speed collision finite element model created to develop and
optimize the structure of the LFT-PP bumper beam, which is made of long fiber-reinforced thermoplastic
composites (LFT). According to the study, the new composite bumper beam is not only 69% cheaper to
manufacture and 17.4% lighter than the conventional aluminum bumper beam, but also much more effective
at absorbing energy. Jiang et al. [6] determined the characteristics of the CFRP material by conducting
mechanical performance tests on it. Using the mass, specific energy absorption, maximum intrusion, and
peak collision force of the bumper beam as targets, they optimized the layup of the anti-collision beam using
the entropy-based TOPSIS technique. This allowed them to achieve optimal results. 768.2 percent less
energy is being put into the anti-collision beam.
This research concentrated on the effectiveness, benefits, and limits of the current design. Based on
observations, design modifications will be made with a focus on shape, and/or material improvements. FEM
software will be used to evaluate a modified model car's front bumper beam for impact loads in accordance
with international standards.

2. Numerical model
2.1. Model description
Most studies were done using Ls-Dyna [7, 8] software and ANSYS-3D [9] hydrocode in their computational
analyses of structural effects. ABAQUS 6.14 was used to simulate the results of this investigation [10]. For
the boundary conditions in all impact simulations, all edges of the impactor wall were fully fixed to prevent
any motion of the structure during the impact process. The corresponding boundary conditions were
formulated in ABAQUS, which respectively, represent the translation and rotating degrees of freedom.
Impact velocity (1111.11 mm/s) was assigned to the rigid car weights of the bumper beam to initiate the
impact load. The impactor and car weights are considered rigid bodies. The movement of the bumper beam
system was restricted in all directions except in the impact direction.

Figure 1. Bumper beam system impact model.

The bumper beam and crush box are composed of eight-node brick hexahedral elements with one integration
point (C3D8R) and an average element size of 7 mm. Where, impactor and car weight are rigid parts
composed of a 4-node 3-D bilinear rigid quadrilateral (R3D4), as seen in figure 1. All parts dimensions are
illustrated in figure 2. Hard contact between the impactor and bumper system was achieved in normal
direction, while friction was neglected.

2
21st International Conference on Applied Mechanics and Mechanical Engineering IOP Publishing
Journal of Physics: Conference Series 2811 (2024) 012014 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/2811/1/012014

Over all dimensions

Crash Box

Profile-A

Profile-B

Profile-C

Profile-D

Figure 2. Models’ parts dimensions.

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21st International Conference on Applied Mechanics and Mechanical Engineering IOP Publishing
Journal of Physics: Conference Series 2811 (2024) 012014 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/2811/1/012014

2.2. Models’ material

Impact tests of the present work were simulated considering the impact velocity of bumper beam system
was 4 km/h and the impactor were supported on all edges. The input data of the bumper and crash boxes
materials 45#steel, Aluminum 6061-T6 (AL 6061-T6), Aluminum 3105-H18 (AL 3105-H18), Magnesium
AZ31B (Mg AZ31B), Carbon fiber-epoxy (CFE), glass fiber-reinforced polypropylene (LECT/PA66),
Glass-mat thermoplastic (GMT), and Long-fiber-reinforced thermoplastic (LFRT) to the code are listed in
Tables 1, 2.

Table 1. Input data to ABAQUS/explicit code for metallic materials.

Material Density Young’s Yield Strength Poisson’s ratio
ρ (g/cm3) modulus S (MPa) ν
E (GPa)
45#steel [11] 7.89 209 355 0.269
Aluminum 6061-T6 [12] 2.7 69 187 0.33
Aluminum 3105-H18 [13] 2.72 68.9 193 0.33
Magnesium AZ31B [7] 1.74 180 450 0.35

Table 2. Input data of composite materials properties to the code.

Material Density Young’s modulus Yield Strength Poisson’s ratio
ρ (g/cm3) E (GPa) S (MPa) ν
Carbon fiber-epoxy [13] 1.7 150 276 0.3
LECT/PA66 [11] 1.54 14.123 221 0.33
GMT [14] 1.28 12 230 0.41
LFRT [14] 1.2 9 190 0.45

2.3. Conceptual design of the bumper beam section profile and material
The failure displacement (intrusion) and energy absorption characteristics of all proposed sections and
material solutions are analyzed, while maintaining the overall dimensions, loading and boundary conditions.
All test simulations were conducted in accordance with Economic Commission for Europe (ECE)
Regulation No. 42 [15].

3. Results and discussion

With an impact velocity of 4 km/h (1111.11 mm/s) and a weight of 1100 kg (550kg on each rigid car weight),
two energy absorption boxes were used. Only movement in the direction of collision was permitted for the
two rigid vehicle weights, and general contact was made using a hard, frictionless surface. On the two
energy-absorbing boxes, the two rigid vehicle weights were connected. All of the system's components,
including the bumper beam, two energy absorption boxes, and two rigid vehicle weights, are travelling in
the direction of impact towards the rigid impactor, which is fixed at all four ends. Maximum deflection
cannot rise over 60 mm.
Figure 3, shows the energy absorption-time curves of competing materials for all profiles. In the course of
the impact process, there were three stages: impact contact, maximal incursion, and bouncing. The bumper
beam's velocity was zero when the level of incursion was at its greatest. Figure 4, shows the displacement-
time curves of competing materials for all profiles.

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21st International Conference on Applied Mechanics and Mechanical Engineering IOP Publishing
Journal of Physics: Conference Series 2811 (2024) 012014 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/2811/1/012014

All of the KE was converted into elastic and plastic deformation energy. After then, the energy of elastic
deformation was released, and the bumper beam rebounded. The effectiveness of the automobile bumper
beam was measured using the energy absorption ratio and incursion. According to Equation 1, the ratio of
the energy absorbed to the energy expended during plastic deformation is the "energy absorption ratio".

Plastic
= (1)
total

Figure 3. Comparison of energy absorption curves with time of competing materials (a)Profile-A (b)
Profile-B (c) Profile-C (d) Profile-D.

Table 3, displays the energy absorption ratio, weight, and incursion for eight different bumper beams of the
four designs. The energy absorption ratio of the GMT vehicle bumper beam was found greater in profiles-
A, C, and D but not satisfy the conditions for profile-B. GMT composite material has the highest energy
absorption ratio, lower weight, and greater specific energy absorption, except in profile-B, where CFE
composite material is best. The maximum intorsion of all profiles for various materials (4 metallic and 4
composite) is compared in figure 5, demonstrating that Profile-A has the best characteristics, followed by
Profile-C, Profile-D, and Profile-B.

5
 21st International Conference on Applied Mechanics and Mechanical Engineering IOP Publishing
Journal of Physics: Conference Series 2811 (2024) 012014 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/2811/1/012014

Figure 4. Comparison of displacement with time of competing materials(a)Profile-A (b)Profile-B (c)

Profile-C (d) Profile-D.

Table 3. Comparison of competing materials and profiles.

Profile-A Profile-B Profile-C Profile-D

Energy Energy Energy Energy
Material Disp. Disp. Disp. Disp.
Abs. Weight Abs. Weight Abs. Weight Abs. Weight
U U U U
Rate (kg) Rate (kg) Rate (kg) Rate (kg)
(mm) (mm) (mm) (mm)
η/% η/% η/% η/%
45#steel 11.7 27.28 11.56 14.94 24.63 9.984 11.95 26.54 11.534 13.548 26.54 11.9
AL-6061-
18.516 43.95 3.966 25.94 34.51 3.416 18.93 42.62 3.947 21.51 44.39 4.07
T6
AL-3105-
21.36 26.99 4 30.26 23 3.44 21.93 26.25 3.976 25.09 26.25 4.104
H18
Mg-AZ31B 16.71 4.424 2.556 20.97 5.01 2.2 16.97 4.57 2.543 18.69 5.309 2.625
CFE 14.64 24.77 2.5 18.84 23 2.15 14.98 24.188 2.485 16.97 24.63 2.565
LECT/PA66 38.75 83.03 2.262 67.04 - 1.95 40.17 65.044 2.25 46.52 69.616 2.323
GMT 43.11 89.38 1.88 100.39 - 1.62 45.34 70.5 1.87 51.1 82.74 1.93
LFRT 51.63 87.756 1.763 126.81 - 1.52 60.77 46.9 1.754 60.97 78.613 1.81

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21st International Conference on Applied Mechanics and Mechanical Engineering IOP Publishing
Journal of Physics: Conference Series 2811 (2024) 012014 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/2811/1/012014

Figure 5. Comparison of max. intorsion of competing materials for all profiles.

4. Conclusion
In this study, the four different designs namely profile-A, profile-B, profile-C and profile-D had been studied
for low velocity impact as per the ECE standards. When constructing the car bumper, the limitation need is
often taken into account. The deflection of the bumper beam should be kept below a certain value; 60 mm
is derived from this study; in order to prevent damage to the assembly of a vehicle, such as an engine/motor,
battery, fuel units, cooling units, etc. Energy absorption, infiltration, and weight are used as comparative
metrics for the 8 various materials (4 metallic and 4 composite). From the above investigation, it can be
seen that:
- GMT composite material has the highest energy absorption ratio, lower weight, and greater specific energy
absorption, except in profile-B, where CFE composite material is best.
- Profile-A has the best parameters then profile-C then profile-D and finally profile-B.

5. References
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Low speed impacts, Journal of Automobile Engineering and Applications, vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 16-28.
[2] Du B, Li Q, Zheng C, Wang S, Gao C, and Chen L 2023 Application of lightweight structure in
automobile bumper beam: a review, Materials, vol. 16, no. 3, p. 967.
[3] Wang Z and Song K 2022 Application of Building Block Approach on Crashworthiness Design of
Composite Vehicular Structures, Fibers and Polymers, vol. 23, no. 6, pp. 1701-1712.
[4] Khedkar N K, Sonawane C, and Kumar S 2021 Experimental and static numerical analysis on
bumper beam to be proposed for Indian passenger car, Materials Today: Proceedings, vol. 42, pp.
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[5] Xue Y et al. 2021 Design and multi‐objective optimization of the bumper beams prepared in long
glass fiber‐reinforced polypropylene, Polymer Composites, vol. 42, no. 6, pp. 2933-2947.
[6] Jiang R, Zhang T, Sun H, Liu D, Chen H, and Wang D 2021 Study on lightweighting of CFRP
bumper beam using entropy-based TOPSIS approach, Automot. Eng, vol. 43, pp. 421-428.

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21st International Conference on Applied Mechanics and Mechanical Engineering IOP Publishing
Journal of Physics: Conference Series 2811 (2024) 012014 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/2811/1/012014

[7] Marzbanrad J, Alijanpour M, and Kiasat M S 2009 Design and analysis of an automotive bumper
beam in low-speed frontal crashes, Thin-walled structures, vol. 47, no. 8-9, pp. 902-911.
[8] An X, Gao Y, Fang J, Sun G, and Li Q 2015 Crashworthiness design for foam-filled thin-walled
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[9] Neelagandan S, Kumar G A, and Prathivraj S 2020, Design And Analysis Of Automotive Bumper
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[14] Baraskar B and Sature M 2022, Design And Analysis Of An Automobile Bumper Beam, Journal
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42/regulation-no-42- 00/bumpers-front-and-rear. (20 Dec 2021).