EEVC research in the field of improvement of crash compatibility between passenger cars 2001-06-0073
EEVC Working Group 15 (Compatibility Between Passenger Cars) has
carried out research for several years thanks to collaborative
project funded by the E.C. and also by exchanging results of
projects funded by national programs. The main collaborative
activity of the EEVC WG15 for the last four years was a research
project partly funded by the European Commission, where the group
made the first attempt to investigate compatibility between
passenger cars in a comprehensive research program. Accident, crash
test, and mathematical modelling data were analyzed. The main
result was that structural incompatibilities were frequently found
and identified as the main source of incompatibility problems but
were not easy to quantify. Unfortunately as little vehicle
information other than mass is recorded in most accident databases,
most analyses have only been able to show the effect of mass or
mass ratio.
Common ideas to improve compatibility have been reached by this
group and from discussion with other research groups. They will be
investigated in the next phase, where research work will
concentrate on the development of methods to assess compatibility
of passenger cars. The main idea is that the prerequisite to
improve crash compatibility between cars is to improve structural
interaction.
The most important issue is that improved compatibility must not
compromise a vehicle's self protection. Test methods should
lead to vehicles which show good structural interaction in
car-to-car accidents. Test methods to prove good compatibility may
be an adaptation of existing regulatory test procedures (offset
deformable barrier test or full width test like in the USA) for
frontal impact or may be new compatibility tests. Additional
criteria, e.g., impact force distribution, and maximum vehicle
deceleration or maximum vehicle impact force should result in
compatible cars. Attempts will be made to estimate the benefit of a
more compatible car fleet for the European Community.
Author(s):
E. Faerber
Affiliated:
EEVC WG15
Pages: 7
Event:
International Technical Conference on Enhanced Safety of Vehicles