S2-Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composite Based Front Bumper Simulation and Analysis to Study its Energy Absorption Behavior

Abstract

Road safety is a major concern in the automotive industry, as accidents continue to endanger human life and impose significant socio-economic costs. Vehicle bumpers, as a primary component of the restraint system, play a critical role in absorbing crash energy and reducing the transmission of impact forces to the vehicle body and passengers. Conventional steel bumpers, however, are limited in their ability to absorb energy efficiently, motivating the need for alternative lightweight, high-strength materials with superior crashworthiness. This study investigates the design and analysis of an Epoxy S-2 Glass Fiber bumper with a fiberto- matrix volume ratio of 60:40, intended to replace the conventional steel bumper in the TOYOTA COROLLA SEDAN (2009-2019) model. In this study the optimal polymer composite bumper material having highest priority vector score of 1.8 was evaluated by using Analytical hierarchy process(AHP). The proposed composite bumper was designed by using SOLIDWORK and analyzed under a 40 km/h frontal collision using finite element simulations in ANSYS explicit dynamics. The crashworthiness of the bumper is evaluated mainly in terms of internal energy absorption behavior. The simulation results show that the composite bumper absorbs 865 J of total internal energy, corresponding to approximately 73.8% of the initial kinetic energy being dissipated through structural deformation of the bumper components, and with a specific energy absorption of 86.5 J/kg based on the combined mass of the bumper beam and supporting energy-absorbing plates. Literature reports indicate that energy absorption for similar composite bumper impact tests ranges from approximately 41.2 J to 96.5 J, confirming that the obtained specific energy absorption falls within expected values. Enhanced energy absorption reduces the force transmitted to the chassis, thereby lowering the risk of structural damage and improving passenger protection during collisions. The findings demonstrate that Epoxy S-2 Glass Fiber bumpers are a promising replacement for conventional steel bumpers, offering better crash performance, improved energy absorption, and reduced vehicle damage while contributing to lightweight and safer automotive structures.