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Injury potential of a three-year-old Hybrid III dummy in forward and rearward facing positions under CMVSS 208
Tanya Kapoor1, William Altenhof, Qian Wang
1Department of Mechanical, Automotive and Materials Engineering, University of Windsor, 410 Sunset Avenue, Windsor, Ont., Canada N9B 3P4.
Insights
Rearward-facing child restraint seats significantly reduce neck injury risk for children in frontal crashes. This study compared forward and rearward facing positions using crash tests and simulations, finding rearward facing safer for the neck.
Area of Science:
- Biomechanics
- Automotive Safety Engineering
- Pediatric Injury Prevention
Background:
- Child restraint systems are crucial for mitigating injuries in vehicle collisions.
- Understanding the biomechanical response of children in different restraint orientations is vital for safety standards.
- Previous research highlights the importance of rearward-facing positions for infant safety, but data for older children in frontal impacts needs further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate and compare the head and neck injury potential of a three-year-old child in forward-facing versus rearward-facing child restraint seats during frontal collisions.
- To validate a numerical simulation model against experimental crash test data for accurate injury assessment.
- To provide data-driven insights for optimizing child passenger safety.
Main Methods:
- Conducted experimental vehicle crash tests using a Hybrid III three-year-old dummy in a convertible child restraint seat, adhering to Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208.
- Developed and validated a numerical model in LS-DYNA, comparing simulated head/chest accelerations and neck loads/moments against experimental results.
- Performed further numerical simulations to assess injury criteria (neck loads, head accelerations) for the rearward-facing configuration.
Main Results:
- The numerical model demonstrated reasonable correlation with experimental findings, validating its use for further simulations.
- In frontal collisions, the rearward-facing child dummy exhibited significantly lower neck injury criteria compared to the forward-facing dummy.
- Head injury criteria levels were similar between the forward-facing and rearward-facing configurations.
Conclusions:
- Rearward-facing child restraint systems offer superior protection against neck injuries for three-year-old children in frontal impacts.
- The validated numerical model serves as a reliable tool for future research into child occupant protection.
- Findings support the continued recommendation and potential expansion of rearward-facing use for older children in specific crash scenarios.
Abstract:
This research focuses on the injury potential of children in forward and rearward facing child restraint seats in frontal collisions. Vehicle crash tests were completed following the guidelines outlined in the Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 using a Hybrid III three-year-old dummy in a convertible forward/rearward facing child restraint seat. The seat was equipped with a five-point restraining system and the experimental test was completed in the forward facing configuration. A numerical model employing a similar set-up as the experimental crash test was developed and numerically simulated using LS-DYNA. To verify the numerical simulations, the head and chest accelerations as well as neck loads and moments were compared to the experimental findings and it was observed that a reasonable correlation between the experimental and numerical observations existed. Further numerical simulations were completed to investigate the influence of positioning the three-year-old dummy in the rearward configuration on the head and neck injury potential during frontal crash. Through an analysis of injury criteria, using neck loads and head accelerations, it was observed that the rearward facing child dummy sustained significantly lower levels of neck injury criteria while exhibiting similar levels of the head injury criteria as the forward facing child dummy.
