Biomechanics of seat belt restraint system

Seat belt system restrains and protects occupants in motor vehicle crashes and any slack in seat belt system induces additional loading on occupant. Signs of belt loading are more obvious in high-speed frontal collisions with heavy occupants. However subtle changes may occur at low speeds or with low forces from occupants during rollovers. In certain cases, the seat belt webbing is twisted and loaded by the occupant. The loading of webbing induces an observable fold/crimp on the seat belt. The purpose of the study is to biomechanically evaluate the force required to produce such marks using an anthropometric physical test dummy. Two tests were conducted to determine the amount of force required to put an observable fold/crimp in a shoulder belt. A head form designed by Voight Hodgson was used to represent the neck which interacted with the belt. The force was applied with a pneumatic pull ram (central hydraulic 89182 N) and the force was measured with a 44,000 N transducer load cell (DSM-10K). Results indicate that the force of over 1,000 N produced a fold or crimp in the belt.