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Technical Paper

Load-Limiters Effect on Occupant Restraint System Performance

2016-04-05
2016-01-1505
This paper investigates the role that load-limiters play with respect to the performance of occupant protection systems, with focus on performance in frontal crashes. Modern occupant protection systems consist of not just the seat belt, but also airbags, interior vehicle surfaces and vehicle structure. Modern seat belts very often incorporate load-limiters as well as pretensioners. Published research has established that load-limiters and pretensioners increase the effectiveness of occupant protection systems. Some have argued that load-limiters with higher deployment thresholds are always better than load-limiters with lower deployment thresholds. Through testing, modeling and analysis, we have investigated this hypothesis, and in this paper we present test and modeling data as well as a discussion to this data and engineering mechanics to explain why this hypothesis is incorrect.
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