David Booth

Education:

• BASc, University of Waterloo, Canada

Research interests:

• Computational Solid Mechanics
• Crashworthiness and Structural Optimization
• Plastic Impact Analysis
• Axial and Oblique Crushing of Thin-Walled Structures

Summary of work:

Occupant safety is a priority in automotive design and despite enormous advances many accidents still result in injury. A leading factor in serious or fatal crashes is the performance of the vehicle in an oblique crash scenario – where impact occurs at an angle or the front corner of the vehicle strikes a small object such as a utility pole. Third-party agencies are becoming increasingly interested in small overlap and oblique impact testing. Through the use of computational tools, these impacts can be simulated to a high degree of accuracy. Once a validated finite element model is established, a parametric study can be performed to determine the effect of impact angle, size, and shape. The goal of my research is to develop a multi-objective optimization framework utilizing explicit dynamic finite element analysis to design superior energy absorbing structures in both axial and oblique loading.