Investigations on lateral vehicle impact on moulded wooden tubes made of beech (Fagus sylvatica L.)

Abstract Lateral vehicle impact tests on moulded wooden tubes were performed to estimate the suitability for infrastructure equipment like lighting poles. Initial speeds of the impacting vehicle of 35, 50 and 100 km/h were tested. Both the tested unreinforced tubes and a glass fibre reinforced tube were classified in energy absorption category NE according to EN 12767. A numerical model was developed in the finite element software LS-DYNA to establish a simulation tool for infrastructure equipment made of moulded wooden tubes. The simulations confirmed the experimental results regarding the failure behaviour and the quantitative deceleration of the vehicle during the crash.