Engineering of a side bi-fold doorway unit on a Transit van per the Altoona durability and FMVSS 214 Side Impact requirements.

• Developed full FE model using CAD and public data; updated materials with test results.
• Performed crash simulations with LS-Dyna; durability with MSC-Nastran.
• Crash performance matched NHTSA-tested Transit variants.
• No significant degradation from door integration.
• Localized stress found near OE sliding door bracket—mitigated with proposed fix.
• Structural durability remained comparable to OE baseline.
• Demonstrated that simulation-led design enables safe, durable mobility conversions.