Design and analysis of automotive carbon fiber composite bumper beam based on finite element analysis

In this article, the most important part of the automotive front bumper system, namely, the bumper beam, is studied by changing the material and thickness to improve the crashworthiness performance in low-velocity impact. According to the low-speed standard of automotives stated in E.C.E. United Nations Agreement, Regulation no. 42, the low-velocity impact simulation based on finite element analysis is carried out. Lightweight is the main purpose of this article. First, the bumper beam analysis is accomplished for carbon fiber composite and steel material to analyze their deformation, weight, impact force, energy absorption, and the acceleration of the impactor. As a consequence, the bumper beam made by carbon fiber composite achieves better impact behavior. Second, on the purpose of lightweight, the bumper beams of different thickness including 5.4, 6, 6.6, and 7.2 mm are investigated. The results show that the 5.4 mm bumper beam is the best selection without sacrificing the impact performance. Third, according to the stress distribution, the thickness distribution of the bumper beam is changed to get better lightweight results. It is indicated that the weight of the improved bumper beam is further reduced and the impact performance is not weakened.