Injury Risks of Rear Occupant in Typical Four-door Type of Pick-up Truck under Vehicle Collision

This research explores the injury risks of occupants in four-door type of pick-up truck using experimental based collision with Hybrid III dummy for occupant injury indicators. The full-sized crash laboratory was developed to conduct full frontal impact based on standard regulation. To verify performance of full-sized crash laboratory and vehicle deceleration, low and high speed tests were conducted at the same vehicle. The Hybrid III dummy with head and chest sensors was used at the rear outboard seat during high speed test. Consequently, the deflection and thoracic viscous criteria, which represent the chest injuries, are up to 93 mm and 3.96 m/s, respectively, high beyond the standard requirement. Moreover, the most important finding of this research is that the four-door pickup truck is subjected to the 2nd impact up to 116.51 G at dummy head with higher resultant acceleration than the 1st impact (65.62 G) due to the limited space behind the rear headrest and thinner backrest of rear seat. This research also investigates the post-crash results to illustrate the suggestive idea for improving crashworthiness of future design resulting in mitigation of occupant injuries.

Prediction of Occupant Injuries for Improved eCall Efficiency

Especially in emerging markets, no emergency infrastructure is established. In case of an accident, passing road users need to call for help or the ambulance. An automated eCall to friends, family or in future directly to the rescue control with transmission of GPS position, probable injury pattern and injury severity could significantly improve the rescue chain and would save lives in large scale. Initial approaches to the prediction of an injury pattern were investigated in this paper. A simulation model of a reference vehicle and with a hybrid III 50 percentile dummy was built by using the program MADYMO. A large amount of real accident data was processed using an algorithm created in MATLAB. This made it possible to adapt the acceleration data with identical rules and to determine the different restraint system ignition times. The algorithm allows the data to be used in the simulation model. Furthermore, the corresponding accident descriptions were analysed and translated into protection criteria level by means of literature. For the subsequent evaluation, the assessment protocol (Version 8.0.3) of the European New Car Assessment Programme (EuroNCAP) was used. To validate the model, an ordinal rating system was created to compare the ratings of the simulation and the injury descriptions. The results indicate a good prediction of the injury patterns with an agreement of 39.56 percent. Especially considering that a large number of influencing parameters are unknown.

Investigation on Design and Analysis of Passenger Car Body Crash-Worthiness in Frontal Impact Using Radioss

Increasing advancement in automotive technologies ensures that many more lightweight metals become added to the automotive components for the purpose of light weighting and passenger safety. The accidents are unexpected incidents most drivers cannot be avoided that trouble situation. Crash studies are among the most essential methods for enhancing automobile safety features. Crash simulations are attempting to replicate the circumstances of the initial crash. Frontal crashes are responsible for occupant injuries and fatalities 42% of accidents occur on frontal crash. This paper aims at studying the frontal collision of a passenger car frame for frontal crashes based on numerical simulation of a 35 MPH. The structure has been designed to replicate a frontal collision into some kind of inflexible shield at a speed of 15.6 m/s (56 km/h). The vehicle’s exterior body is designed by CATIA V5 R20 along with two material properties to our design. The existing Aluminum alloy 6061 series is compared with carbon fiber IM8 material. The simulation is being carried out by us in the “Radioss” available in “Hyper mesh 17.0” software. The energy conservation and momentum energy absorption are carried out from this dynamic structural analysis.

The Effects of Curtain Airbag on Occupant Kinematics and Injury Index in Rollover Crash

Background. Occupant injuries in rollover crashes are associated with vehicle structural performance, as well as the restraint system design. For a better understanding of the occupant kinematics and injury index in certain rollover crash, it is essential to carry out dynamic vehicle rollover simulation with dummy included. Objective. This study focused on effects of curtain airbag (CAB) parameters on occupant kinematics and injury indexes in a rollover crash. Besides, optimized parameters of the CAB were proposed for the purpose of decreasing the occupant injuries in such rollover scenario. Method and Material. The vehicle motion from the physical test was introduced as the input for the numerical simulation, and the 50% Hybrid III dummy model from the MADYMO database was imported into a simulation model. The restraint system, including a validated CAB module, was introduced for occupant kinematics simulation and injury evaluation. TTF setting, maximum inflator pressure, and protection area of the CAB were analysed. Results. After introducing the curtain airbag, the maximum head acceleration was reduced from 91.60 g to 49.52 g, and the neck Mx and neck Fz were reduced significantly. Among these CAB parameters, the TTF setting had the largest effect on the head acceleration which could reduce 8.6 g furthermore after optimization. The neck Fz was decreased from 3766.48 N to 2571.77 N after optimization of CAB protection area. Conclusions. Avoiding hard contact is critical for the occupant protection in the rollover crashes. The simulation results indicated that occupant kinematics and certain injury indexes were improved with the help of CAB in such rollover scenario. Appropriate TTF setting and inflator selection could benefit occupant kinematics and injury indexes. Besides, it was advised to optimize the curtain airbag thickness around the head contact area to improve head and neck injury indexes.

Analysis and Testing of Passenger Vehicle Bulkhead Fireworthiness

This paper presents a case study of an injury producing post-crash fire as well as testing methods to evaluate bulkhead pass through seal fire resistance and retention. In the subject crash, engine compartment fluids were released and ignited. The burning fluids entered the occupant compartment through a bulkhead pass through, resulting in rapid fire propagation and severe occupant injuries before extrication could be completed. A burn testing methodology was developed and used to evaluate the ability of the subject seal design to prevent flames and fluids from entering the occupant compartment. A retention testing methodology was also developed and used to evaluate a variety of seal designs.