Fuzzy uncertainty analysis in automotive crash simulation

Automotive crash simulation is a topic characterized by a high level of complexity. It deals with nonlinear dynamics, sophisticated models of materials and geometry, models of human occupants, as well as a nearly unmanageable of possible boundary and initial conditions. In this complex field, uncertainty management plays an essential role. The lack of information to adequately determine the pertinence of the model assumptions, the inevitable geometrical and material differences between nominally identical cars and the huge number of possible boundary and initial conditions give rise to uncertainties of different origin. These uncertainties are reflected in model parameters of uncertain value, which have to be handled efficiently to obtain a validation of the overall crash simulation. A very practical approach to the modeling and simulation of uncertain systems is the numerical implementation of the uncertain parameters as fuzzy numbers, a special class of fuzzy sets, and then, the use of fuzzy arithmetic based on the transformation method.