DESIGN AND FABRICATION OF ACTIVE HOOD LIFT SYSTEM

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

1.1 INTRODUCTION

More than 2,70,000 pedestrians lose their lives on the world’s roads each year
accounting for 22% of the total 1.24 million road traffic deaths. Because of this
problem, there has been increase in awareness of pedestrian safety and strengthening
certain regulations and systems to reduce pedestrian injuries and prevent accidents.
Pedestrian fatalities and injuries are mostly caused by traffic accidents. The pedestrian
traffic accident is considered a social problem since it results in significant cost to
society. More and more effort is still needed to ensure the pedestrian remains unhurt
in case of a collision

The primary reason causing pedestrian fatalities is head injury. In pedestrian

traffic accidents, leg injury is about 60 per cent, and head injury is about 40 percent.
Therefore, leg injury is 20 per cent higher than head injury. However, head injury is
more serious because it causes 70 per cent of the fatalities because of obvious reasons
of the brain being sensitive and that even a slight impact on the head can lead to
serious circumstances.

The positions of the hood where the pedestrian head impacts are different due
to the vehicle’s shape or size, the impact speed, and the pedestrian’s size. In general,
because an adult is tall, the majority of adult cases have a head impact into the
windshield and upper hood. On the other hand, because a child is small, the head
impacts into the hood.

When a pedestrian traffic accident occurs, the pedestrian’s head collides with
the stiff points of the hood, which does not have enough deformation space to absorb
the impact energy. The hood hinge, the washer reservoir, the battery terminal, the
cowl, and the air cleaner housing reside below the stiff points of the hood. The injury
level of the pedestrian’s head at such stiff points is relatively higher than at the other
points. The pedestrian’s head is in grave danger at the stiff points of the hood.
Therefore, the injury level must be lowered at the stiff points by eliminating the hard
contact between the pedestrian’s head and the hood.

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 DESIGN AND FABRICATION OF ACTIVE HOOD LIFT SYSTEM

The hood must absorb a significant amount of energy over a small area while
precluding impact with the hard engine components, but there is limited space
between the hood and critical components. The hood can be manufactured using
energy absorbing materials but this again leads to extra material costs, redesigning
and also due to demanding sleek design of vehicle

The main role of the AHLS is to absorb the shock that would normally be
transmitted to the pedestrian. This system makes the available deformation space of
the hood at internal room by raising the hood for protecting pedestrian from colliding
with hard structures like the engine. In particular, this system greatly reduces an
injury of the pedestrian’s head, which causes the majority of fatalities. This system
has the advantage in that the vehicle becomes safer for pedestrians without
redesigning the frontal structure of the vehicle.

The main process involved in AHLS system for the project model fabricated is
that when the sensors placed in the bumper of the vehicle detects a collision, the
pneumatic cylinders placed under the hood activates and lifts it within half a second to
a height of 8-10cm. This provides the cushioning effect required to reduce the
seriousness of the injury.

1.2 IDENTIFICATION OF PROBLEM

The accidents involving pedestrian have been rising considerately and more
and more injuries are caused. Hence this kind of safety system was implemented to
not only reduce the seriousness of the injury but also to decrease the damage caused
to the vehicle in a pedestrian collision. Creating room under the hood is not always
easy because usually there are other design constraints, such as aerodynamics and
styling. AHLS with Airbags proved to reduce the Head Injury Criterion value
considerably.

Usually this system was implemented in Citroen C6 and Jaguar XK. Recently
Volvo started rolling out this system with airbags i.e. Pedestrian airbags in their
Volvo V40 car. Cars that have employed this system are Volvo V40, Subaru Impreza,
Jaguar XF and XK and Land Rover Discovery Sport

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 DESIGN AND FABRICATION OF ACTIVE HOOD LIFT SYSTEM

1.3 MAJOR IMPACT AREA

The major areas of the vehicle where the pedestrian’s head usually hits are
mentioned below.

 Parts of the bonnet with little deformation space beneath

 Lateral bonnet edge and transition area between bonnet and wing
 Bonnet area directly above the firewall
 Lower windscreen frame
 A-pillars
 Upper windscreen frame
 Roof frontal edge

Figure 1.1: Active Hood Lift System

All of these areas are characterized by stiff and hence less deformable vehicle
structures. The degree of exposure of a pedestrian to these regions can differ from car
to car because of differences in dimensions and styling.

1.4 ANATOMY OF PEDESTRIAN CRASH

Most pedestrian crashes involve a forward moving car. In such a crash, a

standing or walking pedestrian is struck and accelerated to the speed of the car and
then continues forward as the car brakes to a halt. Although the pedestrian is impacted
twice, first by the car and then by the ground, most of the fatal injuries occur due to
the interaction with the car. The vehicle designers usually focus their attention on
understanding the car-pedestrian interaction, which is characterized by the following

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sequence of events: the vehicle bumper first contacts the lower limbs of the
pedestrian, the leading edge of the hood hits the upper thigh or pelvis, and the head
and upper torso are struck by the top surface of the hood and or windshield.

Figure 1.2: Kinematics of a pedestrian in PPCFC

1.5 OBJECTIVES

 Decreases the pedestrian injuries

 Design and implementation of active hood lift system in passenger car
 Working principle and main components of active hood lift system

1.6 REPORT OUTLINE

The chapter bifurcation in brief is as follows. Initially, Chapter 2 deals with

background information on the approaches and studies which are related to the active
hood lift system (AHLS). It also includes an exhaustive literature review. Chapter 3
discusses deeply about simulation of AHLS while occurs a pedestrian vehicle crash. It
gave a clear idea about working of active hood lift system in the passenger car. In
chapter 4 fabrication of active hood lift system. Chapter 5 which highlights the main
contributions of this seminar outlines potential direction for further work and
implementation of AHLS in passenger car.

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CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 INTRODUCTION

The accidents involving pedestrian have been rising considerately and more
and more injuries are caused. Hence this kind of safety system was implemented to
not only reduce the seriousness of the injury but also to decrease the damage caused
to the vehicle in a pedestrian collision. Creating room under the hood is not always
easy because usually there are other design constraints, such as aerodynamics and
styling

2.2 JOURNAL STUDIES ON AHLS

2.2.1 Optimization of Hood Panels of a Passenger Car for Pedestrian Protection

by Revathy Krishnamoorthy

The term, pedestrian generally refers to a person walking, running, skating,

skateboarding and commuting using similar devices. There is a recent trend for urban
design to provide for more walk able communities. Present–day awareness of health,
fitness and greenhouse gas emissions has increased the popularity of cycling and
walking in urban areas. Therefore, the probability of pedestrian accidents has also
increased.

Automobiles have evolved to be a successful medium for transportation due to

substantial inventions and developments in various countries. The concept of large–
scale production–line manufacturing enabled the affordable pricing of automobiles,
which has increased the demand for them globally.

In 1900, the United States of America was the only country manufacturing
cars and built only 4,192 passenger cars (Elert 2001). There were no buses or trucks at
that time. As of 2010, there are more than 600 million passenger cars worldwide
(World meters 2010). These numbers are increasing rapidly. It is estimated that, if the
present trends continue, the number of cars in the world will double by 2030.

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Figure 2.1: Unsafe conditions for pedestrians (World Health Organization 2011)

As the demand for automobiles has increased, automotive design is improving

every day in many aspects of comfort, technology, efficiency, performance and
safety. However, as many countries and manufacturers have been participating in the
manufacture of cars, there are significant differences in the quality and safety
performances offered by the vehicles.

2.2.2 Kinematics of a pedestrian in an impact

In 1965, Ryan and Mclean (Ryan & McLean 1965) described the sequence of
events when a passenger car collides with an adult pedestrian standing erect.

Those sequences are as follows:

 Contact between the bumper and the lower legs of the pedestrian
 Contact between the leading edge of the hood and upper legs/pelvis of the
pedestrian
 Contact between the pedestrian’s head/upper torso and the top surface of the
hood/windscreen/windscreen frame (Figure 2.1)
 Contact between the pedestrian and the ground

They also speculated that it would be possible to minimize injuries in Pedestrian–

Passenger Car Front–end Collision (PPCFC) by changing the frontal shape of a car.
Their study however, did not suggest any design solutions, as they did not have
enough data.

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Figure 2.1: Kinematics of pedestrian in an impact

In those days, the belief was that the only way to reduce pedestrian fatalities
and injuries was to prevent pedestrian–vehicle collisions. Consideration of
modification of vehicle design for pedestrian protection was not an option at that time.
From this sequence of events, it can be stated that typically the colliding vehicle runs
under the pedestrian and the severity of injuries vastly depend on the vehicle shape
and certain characteristics such as energy absorption.

2.2.3 Thesis overview

The Head Injury Criterion (HIC) is used to determine the head injury tolerance
in all the tests conducted to evaluate the pedestrian safety performance offered by the
vehicles. The research presented in this thesis involves developing a methodology for
optimizing hood panels of passenger cars to ensure that the HIC value falls below the
limits specified by both the Global Technical Regulation–9 (GTR–9) and Australasian
New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) while considering other vehicle design
requirements including minimal deformation. The thesis provides a detailed review of
research done to optimize the hood panels of a car to improve the protection offered
by the vehicle to pedestrians.

2.2.4 Mortality rates

As the number of cars on the roads has increased worldwide, the risk of traffic
accidents has also increased and road traffic accidents are a leading cause of deaths
due to injuries. The rate of road traffic fatalities increased rapidly after 1998 and the
trend is continuing. In many countries, not enough resources are dedicated to
recording and analyzing reliable data on road traffic fatalities, non–fatal injuries and
economic costs.

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The World Health Organization’s publications reported approximately 1.27

million fatalities in one year in road traffic accidents. It has been estimated that this
will rise to 2.4 million fatalities per year by 2030. It is predicted that by 2030, injuries
due to road traffic accidents will become the fifth leading cause of death. In addition,
approximately 50 million people suffer non–fatal injuries caused by road traffic
accidents around the world every year, causing huge devastation and suffering to
individuals, families and communities (World Health Organization 2011).

Figure 2.3: Road traffic fatalities by year in EU, 1990–2010 European Commission

In 2001, the European Commission set itself a challenging goal of reducing

the number of fatalities to 50% by the year 2010 (European Commission 2010) as
shown in Figure 2.3.Initiatives included improvements in vehicle design for both
active and passive safety, accident avoidance countermeasures, improvements in
infrastructure, improvements in driver and pedestrian behavior, better and faster
emergency medical services, and strict enforcement of traffic regulations.

2.2.5 Design and Fabrication of Active Hood Lift System by Rahul Nair Pappully

The majority of pedestrian fatalities and injuries are caused by traffic

accidents. Many industries are striving for better protection of pedestrians by using an
active hood lift system, rather than reforming the existing structure. Hence the main
aim is to design and fabricate an Active Hood Lift system in an experimental model
of a car.

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CHAPTER 3
METHODOLOGY

3.1 VIRTUAL CRASH SIMULATION

The automotive industry is moving away from a vehicle development process

based on extensive programs of physical testing, practical experience and observation
in physical testing, because this is expensive and time consuming. It is utilizing
virtual assessment techniques in many areas such as assembly, fitment, appearance,
durability and safety development.

The virtual assessment of crash tests requires the following:

 Creating three–dimensional geometric models of all the required

components to replicate the structure as accurately as possible
 Converting the geometric models into FE models
 Implementing the mass properties and representative material properties
 Constraining the components together
 Processing using high–performance computers
 Post–processing to analyze the crash results.

The auto industry is devoting significant resources and time to develop three–
dimensional geometric models and FE models of vehicles to use in virtual
assessments in order to meet real world, regulatory and consumer metrics
requirements.

It will be difficult and expensive to capture every crash situation in the

physical tests, whereas virtual assessment tools enable automakers to analyze nearly
every situation and develop systems to put safer cars on the roads.

Confidence in using virtual assessment for developing cars has been

increasing due to the leading–edge virtual assessment technology that is evolving
every day. At present, many automakers use physical tests for correlation, verification
and validation purposes only. As an example, the virtual assessment for pedestrian
protection using a human body model is shown in Figure 3.1

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 DESIGN AND FABRICATION OF ACTIVE HOOD LIFT SYSTEM

Figure 3.1: Virtual pedestrian impact test

3.2 PARAMETRIC GEOMETRIC MODEL CREATION

In this research, the designs of the hood assembly were created as three–
dimensional parametric geometric models using the chunky solid method in
Unigraphics NX5 CAD software. The design boundaries were set up using datum
planes at set coordinates. This methodology enables faster design modifications in the
hood assembly.

Once a design alternative was developed, checking for fitment and clearance
was carried out by virtually assembling the hood to the original donor vehicle. The
mid–surface was extracted from these geometric models to enable the FE model
development to assess the head impact performance

3.3 FINITE ELEMENT MODEL CREATION

The FE models were developed using ANSA V13 with the mid–surfaces
extracted from the geometric models. PRIMER was utilized to replicate the hood
interface conditions by assembling these FE models to the donor vehicle. The section,
material properties, joints and constraints to the components of the hood assembly to
the replicated design solution intensions were assigned using PRIMER as shown in
Figure 3.2. The FE model of the head impactor was positioned at the intended impact
position and angle as shown in Figure 3.3. The head impact condition of the
pedestrian was simulated using LS DYNA–3D Computer Aided Engineering (CAE)
software as exhibited in Figure 3.4. It shows different orientations of the head

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impactor at 5ms intervals for one data point. The hyper graph and hyper view
programs were used to post–process the results which are shown in Figure 7.5

Figure 3.2: FEA model for optimization

Figure 3.3: FEA model with head impactor for optimization

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 DESIGN AND FABRICATION OF ACTIVE HOOD LIFT SYSTEM

Figure 3.4: FEA model simulation using LS-DYNA for optimization

Figure 3.5: Contour plot of hood displacement using HYPERVIEW

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 DESIGN AND FABRICATION OF ACTIVE HOOD LIFT SYSTEM

CHAPTER 4
FABRICATION

4.1 DESIGN OF MODEL

In order to protect the pedestrian’s head from collisions with the car hood, the
active hood system was implemented to soften such collisions.

This system consists of a hood that lifts at the rear when a pedestrian is struck
by the car. In this case, the distance between the hood and the stiff inner parts of the
car becomes wider, creating a larger degree of hood deformation when the hood is
struck by the pedestrian’s head. As a result, more impact energy can be absorbed and
head injuries can be alleviated.

A simple approach was considered rather than implementing this system in a

non-AHLS vehicle due to cost constraints. Hence, an experimental model was
fabricated using Mild steel and sheet metal.

4.2 CAD DESIGN

The Computer Aided Design model was created using Solid Works 2010

Figure 4.1: Rear view of the model

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 DESIGN AND FABRICATION OF ACTIVE HOOD LIFT SYSTEM

As we can see from the images, the hood is lifted to a certain height using two
cylinders. The front part of the model which consists of the bumper is fixed with three
push type sensors which detects if the crash occurred involves a pedestrian or not. If
yes, it instantly activates the pneumatic cylinders.

Figure 4.2: Front view of the model

Two long member and three shorts members are provided to support the
bonnet, fenders, and bumper.
One cross member is used to support the actuators.

Specifications:

Length of the model = 1.62m

Width of the model = 1.19m
Height of the hood lifted = 5cm (can be lifted to up-to 10cm)

4.3 FABRICATED MODEL

Figure 4.3: Top view of the model

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Considering the design prepared using SOLIDWORKS, a similar but much

efficient model was fabricated using mild-steel and sheet metal. First, the chassis was
fabricated by using mild-steel rods and then welded together to form shape. Then
using sheet metals, the bumper and bonnet were prepared to the required dimensions.
The bumper was fixed to the frontal part of the model by welding. Three holes were
made to provide space for the sensors.

The bonnet was joined to the mild steel rod which is lifted by the pneumatic
cylinder using hinges. Four dummy wheels are also fixed for demonstration purposes.
All the electronic parts were assembled and placed on a board which was then fixed to
the model. All the wiring was done correctly and then soldered and connected to the
battery and a switch.

This was done so that the vehicle can move forward at a particular speed on its
own by just using the switch. Air tubes are connected form air compressor to solenoid
valves and then to the pneumatic cylinders. Air compressor provides compressed air
ranging from 0.1bar to 10bar at 35 L/min or 210 L/min displacement. The 12V battery
provides sufficient charge for all the other electronics to function well. A 5V regulator
is provided so that none of the other components are spoilt.

A 15-0-15 V, 1A Transformer is provided to charge the battery using AC plug.

The wiring from sensors are connected to the connection board in the input and at the
output, the wires are connected to the solenoid valve.

Figure 4.4: Side view of the model

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4.3 COMPONENTS AND DESCRIPTION

Pneumatic Cylinder:

Stroke = 10cm
Bore Diameter = 20mm
Piston Diameter = 10 mm
Operating Pressure range = 1-10 bar
Operating temperature range = -20 to 70 deg Celsius

Three push type sensor are placed in the bumper

SI. NO. Part name Quantity

1 Pneumatic Double Acting cylinder 2

2 12V DC 7.2AH Battery 1
3 Solenoid valve 1
4 Push type sensor 3
5 Wire connector 1
6 switch 2
7 Relay 12V 200 ohm 1
8 5V Regulator(IC 7805) 1
9 Plastic tube 3
10 Hose connectors 3
11 3 way connector 2
12 Wheels 4
13 Board 1

Table 4.1: List of components

4.4 WORKING MECHANISM

The head of the pedestrian strikes the hood of the vehicle severely when a
vehicle collides with the pedestrian at 30-45 kmph collision speed.

AHLS works by lifting up the vehicle’s hood to obtain the space to absorb the impact
energy just before the pedestrian’s head hits the hood.

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This system consists of three sensors fixed to the bumper covering the entire
area. Two pneumatic cylinders are placed just beneath the hood at the front, allowing
opening up from the windscreen side. When a crash occurs involving a pedestrian, the
sensors placed in the front detect the crash and sends an electric signal to the wire
connector board and instantly the hood is popped out to a height of 10cm i.e. the
pneumatic cylinder is actuated. The lift height is controlled and limited so that the
driver’s visibility is not reduced.

A 12V Relay is provided so that the signal received from the sensor is
amplified in order to activate the solenoid valve. When the solenoid valve is activated,
the air from air compressor is passed on through the valve to the pneumatic cylinders,
thus activating them and lifts the hood. The entire process, i.e. detection of crash and
actuation of pneumatic cylinder happens within milli-seconds

The following flow charts explains the process easily

Flow diagram of AHLS

AHLS mainly works in coordination with other passive safety systems such as
Pedestrian airbag, Pedestrian detection, radar, lane warning system etc

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CHAPTER 5
RESULT AND ANALYSIS

5.1 PRE-DETERMINED PARAMETERS

Velocity of pedestrian walking = 1m/sec to 1.8m/sec

Weight of pedestrian = Considered 70kgs
Actual weight of experimental pedestrian = 18kgs
Weight of entire model = 10-15kgs
Speed of car = 25-40kmph
Speed of experimental model = < 50km/sec
Volume flow of air compressor = 35L/mi or 210L
Operating Pressure range = 0.5 bar to 10bar

5.2 DETERMINATION OF RESPONSE TIME

As shown in Figure5.1, the total response time (TRT) of the system which
consists of triggering time and actuator deployment time should be less than the first
contact time of head to the hood.

Figure 5.1: Total response time calculation

5.3 TIME TAKEN TO LIFT AT VARIOUS PRESSURE LEVELS

Time taken for the pneumatic cylinders to lift at various pressure levels (bar) were
measured using a stopwatch. The following tabular column provides us with the following
figures

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SL.NO Pressure(Bar) Time(sec)

1 0.5 Did not lift
2 1 0.042
3 1.5 0.039
4 2 0.027
5 2.5 0.016
6 3 0.014

Table 5.1: Time taken for lift the hood

5.4 VELOCITY OF PNEUMATIC CYLINDER

Velocity of pneumatic cylinder can be calculated using the distance (stroke) and time
taken to lift the hood parameters.

Hence, Velocity = Distance (m)/Time (sec)

Here, Distance = Stroke of the pneumatic cylinder i.e. 10cm
Therefore,

Velocity of pneumatic cylinders = Distance / Time

Velocity @ 1 Bar = 0.1 / 0.042 = 2.380 m/sec

SL.NO. Pressure velocity

1 1 2.380
2 1.5 2.564
3 2 3.703
4 2.5 6.25
5 3 7.14

Table 5.2 Velocity and pressure of pneumatic cylinder

5.5 FORCE EXERTED BY PNEUMATIC CYLINDERS

Force exerted = P x π/4 (D2 – d2) Newton

Consider,
Pressure, P = 1.5Bar= 150000N/m2
Bore Diameter, D = 20mm
Piston Diameter, d = 10mm

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Hence,

F =150000 x π/4 (0.022 – 0.011)

F =150000 x π/4 (0.0004 - 0.0001)
F = 35.342 N
Hence, force exerted by one pneumatic cylinder is 35.342N
Therefore, force exerted by two pneumatic cylinders is

35.32 x 2 = 70.685 N

5.6 FORCE REQUIRED TO LIFT THE HOOD

Force = Mass x Acceleration due to gravity

i.e. F = m. g
m = Mass of the Hood= 3kgs
Acceleration due to gravity, g = 9.80 m/sec2
Therefore, F = 3 x 9.80 N
I.e. F = 29.4 N
Therefore, 29.4N of force of required lifting the hood of the model to a certain height
using Pneumatic cylinders.

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6. CONCLUSION

Vehicle collisions befall pedestrians a high fatality rate. Thus, various

countermeasures to prevent accidents involving pedestrians and to lessen the severity
of such accidents need to be developed. This study focused on the injury reducing
capability of pedestrian in a vehicular collision mainly focusing on head injury.

A series of tests were conducted and satisfied the criteria that the hood lifts
well within the time the pedestrian’s head collides. This proved to be vital as the
seriousness of the injury will be reduced drastically.

Modification of the frontal structure of the vehicle can be a good solution to

protect the pedestrian’s head from pedestrian traffic accidents. However, satisfying
the pedestrian protection regulations without modification is a better solution.
Therefore, the active hood lift system has been developed to ensure sufficient space to
avoid the collision of the pedestrian head with hard parts.

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7. SCOPE OF FUTURE WORK

Vehicle design for pedestrian protection requires improvements in many

components in the vehicle front–end such as the lower bumper system, upper bumper
system, interfaces of hood assembly to the vehicle and hood assembly. To optimize
the vehicle front–ends to improve pedestrian protection performance while meeting
all the other requirements of vehicle design is a very large scope of work. In this
research, the development of optimization methodology of large–size hoods for robust
and homogeneous performance with minimal deformation was completed while
meeting pedestrian performance requirements for head impact.

The analysis in this research was carried out with a 3.5kg child head impactor
fired at 50 degrees impact angle from the horizontal plane, as shown in Figure 4.8. In
summary, the hood configuration was optimized for that given mass and angle of
impact, and if an area required both a child head impactor (3.5kg) and an adult head
impactor (4.5kg), compromises would need to be made to accommodate various
masses and angles of impact. Further studies, however may be required to optimize
medium and smaller size hoods. Similarly, work may be required to optimize
components such as hood hinges, A–pillar, base of windscreen, wiper assembly,
fender brackets, under hood components, glue between inner and outer hood panels
and hood latch.

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8. REFERENCES

1. K. Nagatomi, 2005, “Development and Full-Scale Dummy Tests of a Pop-Up

Hood System for Pedestrian Protection” 19th ESV Conference.
2. R. Fredriksson, 2001, “Evaluation of a New Pedestrian Head Injury
Protection System with a Sensor in the Bumper and Lifting of the Bonnet’s
Rear Part” 17th ESV Conference.
3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wH6iNQUUI8 (Reference video)
4. Reif, Konrad, and Bosch, “Fundamental of Automotive and Engine
Technology; Safety System 2014
5. Savic Veena, Pawlicki M., Paul Krajewski, Mark Voss, Louis Hector,
Keith Snavely (2014), “Passive Pedestrian Protection Approach for Vehicle
Hoods”, 2014-01-0513
6. Keun Bae Lee, Han Jo Jung, Han Il Bae, “The study on developing active
hood lift system for decreasing pedestrian head injury” Paper No 07-0198

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