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Effective application of human figure models to truck interior design requires accurate data on the postures and positions of truck drivers. Errors in positioning of figure models propagate to errors in reach, visibility, and other analyses. This paper describes methods used in a recent study to measure in-vehicle driving postures in Class 6, 7, and 8 trucks. A three-dimensional coordinate measurement machine was used to measure body landmark locations after a driver completed a short road course. The data were used to validate posture-prediction models developed in a previous laboratory study. Vehicle calibration, driver selection, and testing methods are reviewed.

Among all the vehicle rollover test procedures, the SAE J2114 dolly rollover test is the most widely used. However, it requires the test vehicle to be seated on a dolly with a 23° initial angle, which makes it difficult to test a vehicle over 5,000 kg without a dolly design change, and repeatability is often a concern. In the current study, we developed and implemented a new dynamic rollover test methodology that can be used for evaluating crashworthiness and occupant protection without requiring an initial vehicle angle. To do that, a custom cart was designed to carry the test vehicle laterally down a track. The cart incorporates two ramps under the testing vehicle’s trailing-side tires. In a test, the cart with the vehicle travels at the desired test speed and is stopped by a track-mounted curb.

In recent investigations of airbag deployments, drivers h v c reported abrasions to the face, neck, and forearms due to deploying airbags, A study of the airbag design and deployments parameters affecting the incidence and severity of abrasions caused by driver-side airbags has led to the development of a laboratory test procedure to evaluate the potential of an airbag design m cause skin injury This report describes the procedure, which is based an static deployments of airbags into a cylindrical lest fixture. The target area is covered with a material that responds to abrasion-producing events in a manner related to human skin tolerance. Test results show excellent correlation with abrasion injuries produced by airbag deployments into the skin of human volunteers.

Two new techniques for investigating the thermal skin-burn potential of airbags are presented. A reduced-volume airbag test procedure has been developed to obtain airbag pressures that are representative of a dynamic ridedown event during a static deployment. Temperature and heat flux measurements made with this procedure can be used to predict airbag thermal burn potential. Measurements from the reduced-volume procedure are complemented by data obtained using two gas-jet simulators, called heatguns. Gas is vented in controlled bursts from a large, heated, pressurized tank of gas onto a target surface. Heat flux measurements on the target surface have been used to develop quantitative models of the relationships between gas jet characteristics and burn potential.