Search Results

A new highly biofidelic side impact dummy, the WorldSID 50th percentile male, has been developed under the supervision of the International Organization for Standardization in order to harmonize a number of existing side impact dummies in one single dummy. Momentum is growing for using the WorldSID in safety tests in the EU and the US. In the present study, two Euro-NCAP pole side impact tests were conducted to compare ES-2 and WorldSID responses in a mid-size SUV with respective seating positions as stipulated in the Euro-NCAP test conditions and fitted with the same side airbag. It was found that, compared with ES-2, the chest, abdomen and pelvis accelerations of WorldSID are more sensitive to variation in the applied external load transmitted by the deployed side airbag and door intrusion.

An analysis of real-world traffic accidents shows that vehicle-to-vehicle collisions at an oblique impact angle account for 80% of all frontal accidents. It is thought that twisting of the upper body and legs of occupants occurs in this type of accident because of rotation of the vehicles at the time of impact. Such twisting of an occupant's restrained upper body might affect the effectiveness of occupant restraint systems, for example, an airbag may strike the head or thorax area at an oblique angle. The mechanism of upper body twisting and the possible effect of such twisting behavior on the performance of restraint systems were analyzed. Frontal sled tests were conducted to compare the response of the Hybrid III dummy and that of the next-generation THOR-FT dummy featuring improved biofidelity. MADYMO simulation models of the Hybrid III dummy and the THOR Alpha dummy were also used to examine occupant behavior in frontal impacts.

Occupant protection performance in frontal crashes has been developed and assessed for mainly front seat occupants over many years, and in recent years protection of rear seat occupants has also been extensively discussed. Unlike the front seats, the rear seats are often occupied by children seated in rear- facing or forward - facing child restraint systems, or booster seats. In the European New Car Assessment Program (NCAP), child occupant protection assessments using 18-month-old and 3-year-old test dummies in the rear seat are already being conducted. In addition, studies are under way concerning the development and introduction of test dummies of 6-year-old (6YO) and 10.5-year-old children. In this study, we focused on 6-year-old children sitting in belt-positioning booster seats. Offset frontal crash tests were conducted using two types of test dummies, a Hybrid III 6YO and a 6YO Q-series dummy (Q6), positioned in the rear seat.

It has been pointed out that in some cases it is difficult to match stiffnesses between vehicles in vehicle-to-vehicle (V-to-V) impacts, which is considered to be one of the main issues for improving frontal impact compatibility, and fixed barrier tests such as new car assessment programs. Impact tests using a moving deformable barrier (MDB) have been regarded as one of the promising measures to resolve this situation. As an initial step in researching vehicle-to-MDB (V-to-MDB) frontal impact tests, the aim of this work was to develop an MDB-honeycomb that can simulate the vehicle behavior in a V-to-V impact. A small sport-utility vehicle (SUV) and a mid-size sedan were selected as the model vehicles, and a method was developed for determining the specifications of the MDB-honeycomb from geometric data and the results of fixed-barrier tests of the model vehicles.

Vehicle impact compatibility is recognized as an approach to further enhance vehicle safety performance. In front-to-front impacts, through many studies in the world, the fundamental issues of compatibility have become more clear. Meanwhile, in front-to-side impacts, especially front of SUV to side of car impacts, fundamental research on compatibility is not as advanced. Considering the above, front of SUV to side of car impact tests were conducted and the issues of compatibility in front-to-side impacts were analyzed.

Recently, frontal impact compatibility is discussed internationally and various procedures to assess compatibility and various measures to improve compatibility have been proposed. Considering the above, car-to-car tests between a heavy car and a light car were conducted to clarify the effect of homogenizing the front structure on compatibility. Then correlation between the results of the barrier impact tests proposed as the procedures to assess compatibility and the car-to-car test results and the requirements for the assessment procedure were discussed.