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Several studies, available in the literature, were conducted to establish the most relevant criterion for predicting the thoracic injury risk on the THOR dummy. The criteria, such as the maximum deflection or a combination of parameters including the difference between the chest right and left deflections, were all developed based on given samples of Post Mortem Human Subject (PMHS). However, they were not validated against independent data and they are not always consistent with the observations from field data analysis. For this reason, 8 additional PMHS and matching THOR tests were carried out to assess the ability of the criteria to predict risks. Accident investigations showed that a reduction of the belt loads reduces the risk of rib fractures. Two configurations with different levels of force limitation were therefore chosen. A configuration representing an average European vehicle was chosen as a reference.

Load-limiting belt restraints have been present in French cars since 1995. An accident study showed the greater effectiveness in thorax injury prevention using a 4 kN load limiter belt with an airbag than using a 6 kN load limiter belt without airbag. The criteria for thoracic tolerance used in regulatory testing is the sternal deflection for all restraint types, belt and/or airbag restraint. This criterion does not assess the effectiveness of the restraint 4 kN load limiter belt with airbag observed in accidentology. To improve the understanding of thoracic tolerance, frontal sled crashes were performed using the Hybrid III and THOR dummies and PMHS. The sled configuration and the deceleration law correspond to those observed in the accident study. Restraint conditions evaluated are the 6 kN load-limiting belt and the 4 kN load-limiting belt with an airbag. Loads between the occupant and the sled environment were recorded.

Rib fractures constitute a good indication of severity as there are the most frequent type of AIS3+ chest injuries. In 2008, Trosseille et al. showed a promising methodology to exhibit the rib fracture mechanisms, using strain gauges glued on the ribs of Post-Mortem Human Subjects (PMHS) and developing a specific signal analysis. In 2009, they published the results of static airbag tests performed on 50th percentile male PMHS at different distances and angles (pure lateral and 30 degrees forward oblique direction). To complete these already published data, a set of 8 PMHS lateral and oblique impactor tests were performed with the same methodology. The rib cages were instrumented with more than 100 strain gauges on the ribs, cartilage and sternum. A 23.4 kg impactor was propelled at 4.3 or 6.7 m/s. The forces applied onto the PMHS at 4.3 m/s ranged from 1.6 kN to 1.9 kN and the injuries varied from 4 to 13 rib fractures.

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.

Many studies have reported multiple rib fractures sustained by an Out-of-Position (OOP) driver subjected to a frontal airbag deployment, but the injury mechanisms and thresholds remain unclear. Two successive phases occur during the bag deployment: punch-out loading of the thorax, followed by a membrane effect (Horsch et al. 1990). The aim of this study was to investigate the thoracic injuries generated by each phase separately. Tests of nine post-mortem human surrogates (PMHS) were carried out on a static test bench using a driver side airbag module described by Petit et al. (2003). The steering wheel was replaced by a plate in order to increase the loading generated by the airbag. Three loading configurations were performed: membrane only, punch-out only, and both types combined. The membrane-only tests were performed with the thorax initially positioned at 13, 78 and 128 mm from the plate in order to vary the load magnitude.