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Pam-Crash


Pam-Crash is a software package from ESI Group used for crash simulation and the design of occupant safety systems, primarily in the automotive industry. The software enables automotive engineers to simulate the performance of a proposed vehicle design and evaluate the potential for injury to occupants in multiple crash scenarios.

The software originated in research aimed at simulating aerospace and nuclear applications. At a meeting organized by VDI (Verein Deutscher Ingenieure) in Stuttgart on May 30, 1978, ESI Group simulated the accidental crash of a military fighter plane into a nuclear power plant German automobile manufacturers took note and tested the applicability of several emerging commercial crash simulation codes, including what would soon become Pam-Crash. This software's predecessor code simulated the frontal impact of a full passenger car structure in an overnight computer run. This was the first successful full-car crash simulation.

Based on Finite element method (FEM), the software enables the modeling of complex geometry by offering different structural and continuum elements: beams, shells, membranes and solids. In a typical crash simulation, shells are used to model thin-walled metal,plastic and composite components. Beams and bars may also be used for stiffening frames, suspensions and special connections. The program offers a large range of linear and nonlinear materials including elastic and visco-plastic and including foam materials and multi-layers composites up to damage and failure models. It was used in the first numerical simulation of a full vehicle rollover by BMW AG (Bayerische Motoren Werke AG). The program provided accurate determination of the structural deformations while the computationally economical rigid body simulation was used during the relatively unimportant deformation and free-flight phases of the simulation.

PAM-CRASH is used on High Performance Computers including massively parallel systems. One of the most time-critical aspects of parallel simulation is the contact handling. Results with a 128-processor computer demonstrated that a contact search algorithm leads to a better scalability. Engineers utilize crash simulation not only to determine the end result of the crash but also to view the step by step time history. Observing factors such as how the bumper is folded in the impact and what is the effect of rib thickness on body deformation in the initial stages of the simulation gives insights that improve crashworthiness of the design.


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