Far-side occupant kinematics in low speed lateral sled

Area of Science:

• Biomechanical Engineering
• Automotive Safety
• Human Factors

Background:

• Understanding occupant kinematics in side-impacts is crucial for vehicle safety design.
• Low-speed lateral impacts, such as curb strikes, pose a risk to vehicle occupants.
• Evaluating the performance of anthropomorphic test devices (ATDs) and human models in these scenarios is essential.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate far-side occupant kinematics in low-speed lateral pulses.
• To compare the responses of human volunteers and a Hybrid III ATD.
• To assess the performance of a TNO-developed human model.

Main Methods:

• Conducted 24 side-impact sled tests with three volunteers (two males, one female) and a Hybrid III ATD.
• Simulated three low-speed lateral pulses: 6 km/h, 8 km/h with a rebound, and 10 km/h.
• Analyzed peak head lateral displacement and overall motion, with and without seatbelt usage.

Main Results:

• The 5th-percentile female volunteer exhibited greater peak head lateral displacement than male volunteers across all pulses.
• The Hybrid III ATD showed comparable results to volunteers at 6 and 10 km/h.
• The ATD's motion was higher than volunteers in the 8 km/h pulse with rebound (Pulse 2).

Conclusions:

• The Hybrid III ATD appears to be a conservative tool for assessing occupant kinematics in low-speed lateral impacts.
• The TNO human model demonstrated representative kinematics compared to volunteer data.
• Further research may refine ATD and human model performance in diverse low-speed impact scenarios.