Determining the material parameters of a polyurethane foam with a differential ant-stigmergy algorithm

摘要

In the event of a crash involving a motor vehicle, a car seat with its backrest and head supportrncan increase the level of passenger safety. However, the filling material used in the seat andrnthe head support should absorb a large proportion of the kinetic energy associated with thernmoving passenger during the crash. This filling material is usually made of polyurethane foam.rnTo simulate the behaviour of the seat assembly during a crash the material characteristics ofrnthe seat-filling foam should be appropriately modelled. For this purpose, a low-density-foamrnmaterial model was developed for the finite element analysis. The paper will present anrninnovative method for estimating the parameters of the low-density-foam material model thatrnis based on a differential ant-stigmergy algorithm. First the differential ant-stigmergyrnalgorithm will be described, which will be followed by its application on the real case. Thernresults will be discussed and the field of application will be presented.