Background Traditional automotive anti-collision beams usually rely on the plastic deformation of metal parts to absorb impact energy, which often leads to irreversible structural damage and high repair costs. Objective To address these limitations, this paper proposes a novel crash beam design based on eddy current damper (ECD), which replaces the traditional energy absorption method with a non-contact electromagnetic damping mechanism. Methods First, the basic structure and operating principle of the ECD were elaborated in detail. The accuracy of its finite element model was verified through impact tests. Subsequently, an electromagnetic-structural-thermal Multiphysics coupled model was established to analyze the ECD's dynamic response, deformation patterns, and thermally induced demagnetization effects under high-speed impact conditions. Results Compared with traditional designs, the ECD-based anti-collision beam significantly improves energy absorption efficiency and effectively reduces damage to the vehicle body during collisions. In addition, the ECD exhibits excellent impact resistance during collisions, with its damping force being minimally affected by the impact temperature rise and the damping attenuation phenomenon being insignificant. Conclusions The applicability of ECD in automotive crash beams is demonstrated.
Chen et al. (Mon,) studied this question.