Debriefing from the 6th workshop on “Numerical simulation for hostile vehicle mitigation”

In 2020, the European Commission has created a working group which is striving to establish a methodology to be used for the performance assessment of vehicle security barriers through numerical simulations.

This year we have achieved the first milestone by creating a generic vehicle model of the N1 category (small 3.5 ton truck) which can be used for virtual testing of security barriers. It is generic in the sense that it does not represent any specific vehicle, but provides a set of parameters allowing an adaptation to a vehicle of any brand and type from the same category. So far, the model was shared only with the members of the working group, but from now on, it can be provided to any interested party from academia or from engineering consulting companies familiar with the LS-Dyna simulation software.  

In addition to the further testing of the generic N1 model within the dedicated working group, in 2023 the EC will provide other generic models for vehicles of heavier categories (trucks from 7 to 30 tons), considered by the stakeholders as very useful for assessing the performance of barriers for mitigation of very severe attacks.

In parallel, the EC has launched a new activity on realistic simulation models of barrier systems security. The joint utilisation of vehicle and barrier models will allow to accurately simulate the effects of any scenario of vehicle impact on a barrier. By establishing an exhaustive technical guidance for virtual testing of security barriers, the EC will provide a valuable support to the public space operators and to the protection system manufacturers for creating new innovative solutions.

It is important to stress that during the methodological development any input from the security barriers' users or manufacturers regarding the needs of virtual testing of security barriers will be of great importance for the endeavours of the EC in providing support to the security barrier community.