Evaluation of a thor dummy rigid-body model in frontal crash environment using objective rating techniques - biomed...

The THOR dummy has been developed and continuously improved by NHTSA to provide manufactures an advanced tool that can be used to assess injury risk in crash tests. The main goal of this study is to evaluate a commercial rigid-body Thor Dummy Model in frontal crash environment using test data and objective rating methods. The kinematics of the Thor-NT dummy, restrained by a standard belt system and positioned in a rigid seat, was recorded by means of a 3D VICON motion capture system in a 40 km/h frontal sled test. In the numerical study, the test setup was modeled in Madymo environment, and the TNO Thor Dummy model was positioned using the same procedure employed in testing. Small spheres were attached to the dummy model at the locations of Vicon markers and their 3D displacements were calculated from the crash simulation with the sled test deceleration pulse. The time histories of the 3D photo-target displacements and the interaction forces of dummy with the sled and the belt obtained in simulation were in reasonable agreement with the corresponding test data. The dummy model obtained an overall score was in the "fair-to-acceptable" range, based on three objective criteria used to compare the simulation results with the test data. While the validations of the model under additional test conditions are suggested (e.g., deceleration pulses with different shapes, and directions), the reasonable performance of the dummy model in 40 km/h sled tests would recommend it for use in impact simulations intended to improve the design of new vehicles and their restraint systems.