The Role of LS-DYNA® in the Design of the New London Electric Taxi

The iconic London taxi is known worldwide. The London Taxi Company (LTC) has produced this much loved vehicle for many years with few radical changes. Recently, zero-emission legislation in London and the global demand for cleaner vehicles has prompted an evolution in its design. With investment from owner Geely, the newly branded London EV Company (LEVC) will produce several thousand electric taxis per year from its new headquarters in Coventry, UK. The designers, Emerald Automotive Design (EAD), engaged Arup to analyse all structural and safety load cases. This paper discusses how the versatility of LS-DYNA and the modularity of the keyword file enabled Arup to use a single-model approach for all analysis - from full vehicle crashworthiness through to component-level durability checks - and how this facilitated an efficient division of activity between remote teams in the UK and China. The application of both explicit and implicit LS-DYNA to the various load cases is considered, together with the correlation against physical testing. Special challenges were posed by the requirement to comply with Transport for London’s (TfL) Conditions of Fitness and the need to protect the high-voltage components. Reliance on the LS-DYNA predictions was high, with few prototype stages afforded by the accelerated programme. Successful progression directly from simulation to legislative testing sign-off was achieved for cases including pedestrian protection. Arup’s use of LS-DYNA was key in bringing this lightweight bonded aluminium taxi to market, whilst minimising energy consumption and delivering a solution to the issue of sustainable city transport.