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This study focuses on the phenomenon of lap belt slip on the iliac spines of the pelvis, commonly named “submarining ”. The first objective was to compare the interaction between the pelvis and the lap belt for both dummies and Post Mortem Human Subjects (PMHS). The second objective was to identify parameters influencing the lap belt hooking by the pelvis. For that purpose, a hydraulic test device was developed in order to impose the tension and kinematics of the lap belt such that they mimic what occurs in frontal car crashes. The pelvis was firmly fixed on the frame of this sub-system test-rig, while the belt anchorages were mobile. Fourteen tests on four Post-Mortem Human Subjects (PMHS) and fifteen tests on the THOR NT, Hybrid III 50th and Hybrid III 95th percentile dummies were carried out. The belt tension was kept constant while a dynamic rotation was imposed on the belt anchorages.

In the literature, injuries at the ischio or ilio pubic ramus level are reported to occur to approximately ¾ of the occupants injured at the pelvis during side impact. Assuming that the load going through the pubis was a good indicator of the ramus stress, the pubic force was widely accepted as a protection criterion for pelvic fractures on side impact dummies. However, no data regarding the actual loads going through the pubis is currently available in the literature for Post Mortem Human Subjects (PMHS) in dynamic conditions. The goal of this study was to determine pelvic biofidelity specifications in terms of load path, to evaluate the pertinence of the pubic force as a criterion, and to develop a pelvic injury risk curve as a function of the pubic force. For that purpose, a pubic load cell was developed for PMHS use, and 16 side impact tests were performed on 8 PMHS using boundary conditions similar to impactor tests and sled tests reported in the literature.

According to accident analysis, submarining is responsible for most of the frontal car crash AIS 3+ abdominal injuries sustained by restrained occupants. Submarining is characterized by an initial position of the lap belt on the iliac spine. During the crash, the pelvis slips under the lap belt which loads the abdomen. The order of magnitude of the abdominal deflection rate was reported by Uriot to be approximately 4 m/s. In addition, the use of active restraint devices such as pretensioners in recent cars lead to the need for the investigation of Out-Of-Position injuries. OOP is defined by an initial position of the lap belt on the abdomen instead of the pelvis resulting in a direct loading of the abdomen during pretensioning and the crash. In that case, the penetration speed of the belt into the abdomen was reported by Trosseille to be approximately 8 to 12 m/s. The aim of this study was to characterize the response of the human abdomen in submarining and OOP.

Occupant protection in rear impact involves two competing challenges. On one hand, allowing a deformation of the seat would act as an energy absorber in low severity impacts and would consequently decrease the risk of neck injuries. However, on the other hand, large deformations of the seat may increase the likelihood of occupant ejection in high severity cases. Green et al., 1987 analyzed a total of 919 accidents in Great Britain. They found that occupant ejection resulted in a risk of severe injuries and fatalities between 3.6 and 4.5 times higher than those cases where no ejection was observed. The sample included single front, side and rear impacts as well as multiple impacts and rollover. The rate of belt use in the sample was 50%. While this analysis included all forms of impact scenarios, nevertheless, it highlights the relative injury severity of occupant ejection.

This study focused on a better understanding and characterization of the submarining phenomenon that occurs in frontal crashes when the lap belt slides over the anterior superior iliac spine. Submarining is the consequence of the pelvis kinematics relative to the lap belt, driven by the equilibrium of forces and moments applied to the pelvis. The study had two primary purposes; the first was to provide new PMHS data in submarining test configurations, the second was to investigate the Hybrid II and Hybrid III dummies biofidelity regarding submarining. Several Post Mortem Human Subject (PMHS) studies have been published on this subject. However, the lack of information about the occupant initial positioning and the use of car seats make it difficult to reconstruct these tests. Furthermore, the two dummies are rarely compared to PMHS in submarining test configurations. A fifteen frontal sled test campaign was carried out on two Anthropomorphic Test Devices (ATDs) and nine PMHS.

Thoracic injury criteria and injury risk curves in side impact are based on impactor or sled tests, with rigid or padded surfaces while airbags are very common on current cars. Besides, the loading is generally pure lateral while real crashes or regulations can generate oblique loadings. Oblique tests were found in the literature, but no conclusion was drawn with regard to the effect of the direction on the injury outcome. In order to address these two limitations, a series of 17 side airbag tests were performed on Post Mortem Human Subjects (PMHS) at different severities and angles. The subjects were instrumented with accelerometers on the spine and strain gauges on the ribs. They were loaded by an unfolded airbag at different distances in pure lateral or 30 degrees forward. The airbag forces ranged from 1680 N to 6300 N, the injuries being up to 9 separated fractured ribs. This paper provides the test results in terms of physical parameters and injury outcome of the 17 subjects.