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Hand dismantling of certain automotive parts has been an accepted process to remove high value materials, but in large scale recycling this may not be economical. In plastics, a pure non contaminated material stream is critical for maintaining high material values and this means designing plastic parts that can be machine separated. One candidate for separating the plastics in vehicle subsystems such as instrument panels and door trim panels is density separation. In order to better understand what processes are required to develop design requirements for automated plastic separation methods Chrysler and the Vehicle Recycling Partnership have undertaken a major materials separation study with MBA Polymers. In this paper, we describe the material separation methods and the application of these methods to three automotive interior assemblies.

Energy management materials are widely used in automotive interiors in instrument panel, knee bolster, and door absorber applications to reduce the risk of injury to an occupant during a crash. Automobile manufacturers must meet standards set by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that identify maximum levels of injury to an occupant. The recent NHTSA upgrade to the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 201 test procedure(1) for upper interior head impact protection has prompted energy management materials' use in several new areas of affected vehicles. While vehicle evaluations continue, results to date show that energy management foams can be effective in reducing the head injury criterion [HIC(d)] to acceptable government and OEM levels.

This paper describes the development of a rubber-like skin Finite Elements Model (FEM) for the Hybrid III headform and an experimental method to determine its material properties. The finite element modeling procedures, using material parameters derived from tests conducted on the headform skin (rubber) material, are described. Dynamic responses and computations of HIC using the developed headform model show that an Elastic-Plastic Hydrodynamic (EPH) material model of the rubber can be used for headform impact simulations. The results obtained from the headform simulation using an EPH rubber material model and drop tower tests of the headform on both a rigid and a deformable structure will be compared, in order to show the applicability of the EPH model.

The interaction ILLEGIBLEf the chest of the Hybrid III dummy with the air bag restrILLEGIBLEt system during a crash is complex. Forces applied to one ILLEGIBLEmponent of the dummy can generate an unexpected response in a distal part. Motion, both linear and angular, of the pelvis during impact can create an enigmatic spike in the acceleration of the chest. Because significant changes in the chest acceleration response can affect the development of an airbag system, this pelvis-chest interaction is cause for concern. The factors that appear to affect the chest acceleration spike as a result of the pelvis-chest interaction are: the mass moment of inertia of the pelvis, the interaction of the pelvis with the femur, the characteristic of the lumbar spine, and the differential velocity of the pelvis with respect to the chest.

Federal legislation mandates that automotive OEMS provide occupant protection in collisions involving front and side impacts This legislation, which is to be phased-in over several years, covers not only passenger cars but also light-duty trucks and multipurpose passenger vehicles (MPVs) having a gross vehicle weigh rating (GVWR) of 8,500 lb (3,850 kg) or less. During a frontal impact, occupants within the vehicle undergo rapid changes in velocity. This is primarily due to rapid vehicle deceleration caused by the rigid nature of the vehicle's metal frame components and body assembly. Many of today's vehicles incorporate deformable, energy-absorbing (EA) structures within the vehicle structure to manage the collision energy and slow the deceleration which in turn can lower the occupant velocity relative to the vehicle. Occupant velocities can be higher in light-duty trucks and MPVs having a full-frame structure resulting in increased demands on the supplemental restraint system (SRS).

The seat can play an important part in improving occupant safety during a car impact. This paper discusses research done to determine how characteristics of seat design affect occupant safety. Impact simulator tests have been run which determine how variation of five specific seat characteristics affect FMVSS 208 occupant injury criteria. These tests simulated a 48.3 km/h (30 mi/h) frontal Oarrier impact using a 50th percentile male anthropomorphic device restrained by a two-point passive shoulder belt system. The five seat characteristics tested were the following: 1) Seat Frame Angle, 2) Seat Frame Structure, 3) H-Point Distance Above the Seat Frame, 4) Energy Absorption of the Seat Frame, and 5) Seat Cushion Foam Firmness. Test results show that the first characteristic can improve all injury criteria. The other four will improve some injury criteria at the expense of others.

The head Severity Index concept has attracted widespread attention in the automotive industry. This index is intended to estimate human survivability in a systematic way without relying on judgment values. It is employed for evaluating the probability of internal head injury for those indeterminate conditions where the human tolerance limits are not clearly defined. This paper discusses a damage index which is believed to be superior to the current Severity Index in several respects: 1. The concept is applicable to internal injuries of the torso as well as the head. 2. It is felt to describe the actual damage mechanism more directly. 3. It fits the Wayne State head tolerance curve better than the Severity Index. 4. It is suitable for analyzing impact pulses of any time duration. Examples cited in this paper include rocket sled exposures (250 ms duration) down to severe head impacts (5 ms duration). 5. It is more convenient to employ.