Flexible Pedestrian Legform Impactor [FlexPLI] - Examination for Its Repeatability and Reproducibility 2021-26-0011

Recently, the Flexible Pedestrian Legform Impactor (or Flex-PLI) - an advancement over the existing EEVC legform - was included in the Global Technical Regulation for Pedestrian Safety viz. GTR-9. The legform tool undergoes impact testing with vehicle at 40kmph in order to evaluate the frontal structure of vehicle for Pedestrian Safety. Being more biofidelic design over the old EEVC legform, Flex-PLI is more flexible and sensitive towards different vehicle designs, shapes and inner bumper structure. This flexibility and sensitiveness of its design also calls for examining the Manufactured FlexPLI for its efficacy under impact testing in terms of its Durability, Repeatability and Reproducibility. This study aims at validating the performance of the test device by building a platform for computing the variations in test results. In this study, three key aspects are identified to measure the performance of this device - Durability, Repeatability, and Reproducibility. Through extensive testing, the device’s flexible yet structurally integral design is revealed - demonstrating its Durability. Multiple tests are executed with the same device and under similar test conditions to determine Repeatability. Additionally, for Reproducibility, similar tests are executed with two different Flex-PLI’s. Analysis of these tests is done and percent coefficients of variation has been established. Furthermore, these performance traits are mapped across different vehicle segments, and their variation with the number of tests executed is identified. To summarize, this study validates the suitability of FlexPLI, to consistently deliver accurate results, by quantifying the performance traits of the device.