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This paper reports a study undertaken by the Crash Safety Working Group (CSWG) of the United States Council for Automotive Research (USCAR) to determine generic acceleration pulses for testing and evaluating advanced batteries subjected to inertial loading for application in electric passenger vehicles. These pulses were based on characterizing vehicle acceleration time histories from standard laboratory vehicle crash tests. Crash tested passenger vehicles in the United States vehicle fleet of the model years 2005-2009 were used in this study. Crash test data, in terms of acceleration time histories, were collected from various crash modes conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) during their New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) and Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) evaluations, and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).

Developing an effective side impact ATD for assessing vehicle impact responses requires a method for evaluating that ATD's bio-fidelity. ISO/TR9790 has been in existence for some years to serve that purpose. Recently, NHTSA sponsored a research project on the post-mortem human subjects (PMHS) responses subjected to side impact conditions. Based on those newly available PMHS data, Maltese generated a new approach for creating bio-fidelity corridors for human surrogates. The approach incorporates the time factor into the evaluation equation and automates the process (Maltese et al. 2002). This paper serves as the first attempt to look closely at the new bio-fidelity corridor generation process (hereafter referred as the Maltese approach) with respect to its validity, effectiveness, as well as its practicality. The effect of mass scaling was first examined in order to ensure the integrity of the data. The time alignment scheme and the formation of the corridors were then tested.

Mechanisms of thoraco-abdominal trauma were investigated utilizing unembalmed, repressurized human cadavers subjected to frontal impact with a steering wheel assembly. The focus of this research program was on trauma to the soft-tissue organs surrounded by the thoracic cage, as well as on the kinematic response of the thoracic cage. The results are compared to other thoraco-abdominal research programs conducted at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) during the last eight years.

Heart-aortic trauma was investigated using live, anesthetized and postmortem canines subjected to frontal impact with a blunt impactor. The major focuses of this research program were: trauma to the heart aortic system, the kinematic response of the thoracic cage, and pressure in the ascending and descending aorta.