Search Results

This paper presents results from a series of tests that address safety related issues concerning vehicle glazing. These issues include occupant containment, head impact injury, neck injuries, fracture modes, and laceration. Component-level and full vehicle crash tests of standard and polycarbonate non-windshield glazing were conducted. The tests were conducted as part of a study to demonstrate that there is no decrease in the safety benefits offered by polycarbonate glazing when compared to current glazing. Readers of this paper will gain a broader understanding of the tests that are typically conducted for glazing evaluation from a safety perspective, as well as gain insight into the meaning of the results.

This paper presents the results of a comprehensive research program addressing the safety issues pertaining to using Polycarbonate glazing for non-windshield vehicle glazing. A series of crash test procedures were used to evaluate the Polycarbonate glazing alternative. The test procedures utilized included High Speed Lateral Impact (HSLI), Narrow Object Intrusion or Pole Impact, Dynamic Rollover, and Inverted Vehicle Drop tests. It should be noted that component-level dynamic impact testing of a variety of Polycarbonate designs was previously conducted as part of this ongoing research program [1]. This testing included 40 lb guided headform and Free Motion Headform (FMH) testing. In regard to vehicle glazing, there are a number of important occupant safety issues. These include occupant containment, injury due to occupant impact with glazing, and laceration. Throughout the project, emphasis was placed on the careful monitoring of the test results with regard to these three issues.

This paper describes the development of a new sled system that can address many safety-related issues pertaining to the racing industry. The system was designed to re-create acceleration and velocity levels similar to levels evident in race car crashes. The sled utilizes equipment typically used in passenger car crash research with the primary change to a specially designed lightweight carriage. This paper will overview the system and the types of crash events that can be simulated. Readers of this paper will gain a much broader understanding of accelerator sled testing and the issues related to the simulation of high speed crashes using physical testing.

Accelerator-type sled systems have been very useful to the automotive industry for many years. These systems have allowed engineers to effectively evaluate a safety component in a frontal crash environment without having to conduct a full-scale crash test. While accelerator-type sleds are an excellent tool for frontal crashworthiness development, the energy required to simulate a side impact or lateral pole impact test is just a small fraction of the total capacity of the system. In light of this, a project was undertaken to develop a system which incorporated many features of the current accelerator-type sled system, but was designed to simulate non-frontal crash test cases. This paper describes the development and test applications for the new sled system. The operating theory and general design is similar to current accelerator-type sled systems, although the new system has been scaled down significantly.

A comprehensive strategy for applying quasi-static and dynamic tests in the development of automobile side impact protection systems is presented. The approach is geared towards providing an understanding of how vehicle components relate to occupant protection as measured by the FMVSS 214 dynamic side impact test. These test methods are viewed as being complimentary, rather than competitive, tools to be employed in the overall strategy. The approach begins with obtaining detailed data from an FMVSS 214 dynamic test. Additional instrumentation is required so that the results of the test can be used to form the basis for setting conditions for subsequent quasi-static and dynamic tests. The Composite Test Procedure (CTP) is an integral part of the process. As described here, the CTP can be conducted under three different methods; three step procedure, continuous computer control, and continuous manual control.

The primary objective of this study was to compare the safety performance of two different plastic glazing materials to that of tempered glass in a moveable window application. A headform impact test method was used to determine if the use of plastic glazing materials offers the potential to reduce the risk of head injuries and fatalities inside impact collisions. These tests were conducted to simulate the dummy head velocity as it penetrates the side glazing area during Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 214 full-scale, side impact, crash testing. The two plastic glazing materials tested were an abrasion resistant (AR) coated copolymer of methyl methacrylate and N-methyl glutarimide (i.e., acrylic-imide or PMMI), and a polycarbonate (PC). Each of these window materials was evaluated in the driver's door of a Pontiac 6000 vehicle.

Side impact crashworthiness development presents a unique challenge to auto safety engineers. One fundamental issue is how to evaluate side impact air bags with a component test that realistically simulates the kinematics of a full scale side impact crash test. This paper presents a test methodology that can be used to evaluate side impact air bags utilizing an accelerator-type sled typically used for frontal impact simulation. The approach uses a “two carriage” system, whereas the struck door and vehicle acceleration profiles are simulated. These acceleration responses are matched through a series of sled variables including thrust column setting, metering pin shape and an on-board pneumatic cylinder which controls the relative response between the two carriages.

This paper will investigate the differences in results produced between FMVSS 214-D compliance testing and the recently implemented New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) High Speed Lateral Impact (HSLI) testing. NCAP HSLI testing is similar to the Frontal Impact NCAP program in that the tests are conducted with a higher impact velocity and the results are presented primarily for consumer information purpose. Readers of this paper will gain a broader understanding of side impact testing in general, as well as form estimates for expected differences for each test. Issues such as vehicle size, deformation, and occupant responses will be investigated and the results collected from tests on the same vehicle will be compared. The results of this study provide a general “rule of thumb” guideline for estimating HSLI test results from FMVSS 214-D test results. This general guideline provides safety engineers with a reasonable estimate of expected results for the HSLI evaluation.