ATD Response in Oblique Crash Tests 2016-01-1490

Oblique crashes to the vehicle front corner may not be characteristic of either frontal or side impacts. This research evaluated occupant response in oblique crashes for a driver, rear adult passenger, and a rear child passenger. Occupant responses and injury potential were evaluated for seating positions as either a far-or near-side occupant. Two crash tests were conducted with a subcompact car. The vehicle’s longitudinal axis was oriented 45 degrees to the direction of travel on a moving platform and pulled into a wall at 56 km/h. Dummies utilized for the seating positions were an adult dummy (50^th-percentile-HIII and THOR-Alpha) for the front-left (driver) position, 5^th-percentile-female-HIII for the right-rear position, and a 3-year-old HIII for the left-rear position. Test results indicate the driver is at risk of head injury in both conditions and for the far-side position had potential for thoracic/abdominal injuries as the inflatable restraint was not engaged and the occupant slid out of the shoulder belt. The 3-year-old child occupant experienced high neck tension and its head translated beyond the child restraint’s side wings. The small female dummy approached the acceptable limit for the chest acceleration metric in the far-side rear seating position and exceeded the neck IARV in the near side position. Oblique crashes may challenge the sensing and deployment algorithms of restraint control modules, and the resulting occupant kinematics may present a more challenging scenario for occupant protection systems. Ensuring optimal deployment of restraint systems and optimizing restraint performance for oblique occupant motion would likely improve occupant outcomes in oblique impacts.