Abstract: The safety design of the hydrogen bottles is an important factor in hydrogen energy vehicle crashworthiness. The frontal impact and the rear impact of a hydrogen vehicle were simulated to investigate the deformation states of a hydrogen bottle framework. The equivalent static forces of impact loads were adopted in the new bottle frame structural optimization process. The material of new frame utilized aluminium alloy and satisfied the bending requirements of different load cases. Then safety of the new frame structure was validated in whole vehicle crashworthiness simulations. The results show that the performances of the new framework improved the vehicle impact safety, and the total mass of the frame is reduced by 27% to realize lightweight structure design.

Key words: hydrogen vehicle, crashworthiness design, frontal impact, rear impact, hydrogen bottle frame, structure design, lightweight structure