Finite element analysis has been used in roadside safety research for nearly three decades. Early applications used simple discreet-element special-purpose codes to predict gross deflections of guardrails and bridge rails in collisions with motor vehicles. More recently general purpose nonlinear explicit finite element programs have been integrated into the analysis and design of roadside safety hardware. This paper reviews the history of the use of finite element methods in roadside safety research and presents the current status of many of the vehicle, occupant and roadside hardware models that have been developed to date.
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