Development of a mobility scooter finite element model

Abstract

Mobility scooters (MSs) of different makes are now widely used in the UK as means of primarily providing manageable transport to the disabled and the elderly, although a number of young people are using them for leisure. This increase in MS users has also resulted in an increase in accidents, where MS have crashed into cars, other MS, pedestrians, and barriers. The high number of crashes, although not documented in the National Accident Statistics of the UK, has prompted the Bolton Automotive & Aerospace Research Group (BAARG) to investigate these crashes by reconstructing selected scenarios using finite element modelling. This paper, for the first time, presents a fully developed computer model of a class III based on MAYAN AC MS manufactured by Horizon Mobility Ltd. The MAYAN AC was chosen based on availability under this project and due to the geometry and suspension systems that are widely used in current MSs on the UK market. The developed model is composed of 83,545 shell elements and 9903 solid elements. In addition, the model has a complete suspension system for better and realistic simulation experience yielding accurate results. The study is reconstructed for the MS impacting a rigid wall at a velocity of 12.8 kph (8 mph). This crash scenario is chosen in this first study in order to quantify the overall strength and stiffness of the MS. The results thereof show areas of concern in terms of the collapse mechanisms that depict crashworthy structures. Also presented are vehicle responses in terms of peak acceleration, crash pulse, absorbed energy, collapse behaviour and velocity profiles that are obtained by running the model in the solver LS-DYNA software. These initial results of the MAYAN AC MS structural behaviour also indicate the overall scooter stiffness.

Keywords:

• mobility scooter
• rigid wall crash
• LS-DYNA
• horizon mobility scooter FE model
• crashworthiness

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Horizon Mobility Ltd for the CAD drawings and supply of some structural components used in material characterisation.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.