This content is not included in
your SAE MOBILUS subscription, or you are not logged in.
Small Female Head and Neck Interaction With a Deploying Side Air Bag
Technical Paper
1999-13-0013
Published September 23, 1999 by International Research Council on Biokinetics of Impact in Switzerland
Annotation ability available
Sector:
Language:
English
Abstract
This paper presents dummy and cadaver experiments designed to investigate the injury potential of an out-of-position small female head and neck from a deploying side air bag. Three seat mounted, thoracic type, side air bags were used that varied in inflator aggressivity. The ATB/CVS multi body program was used to identify the worst case loading position for the small female head and neck. Once the initial position was identified, a total of three Hybrid III 5th percentile dummy and three small female cadaver tests (51 ± 9 years, 64 ± 8 kg, 159 ± 10 cm) were performed. Instrumentation for the dummy included upper and lower neck load cells, while both the dummy and the cadavers had accelerometers and angular rate sensors fixed to the head and T1 vertebrae in order to provide head and neck kinematic data. Head center of gravity accelerations for the dummy ranged from 71 g's to 154 g's, and were greater than cadaver values, which ranged from 68 g's to 103 g's. Peak neck tension as measured at the upper load cell of the dummy increased with inflator aggressivity from 992 N to 1670 N. A conservative modification of the United States National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Nij proposed neck injury criteria, which combines neck tension and bending, was used. All values were well below the 1.0 injury threshold for the dummy and suggested a very low possibility of neck injury. The results of the cadaver tests agreed with this prediction in that no injuries were observed. The dummy neck tension and dummy and cadaver head accelerations correlated very well with air bag inflator characteristics. These tests suggest that the side air bag may be designed to minimize the risk of head and neck injury to the out of position small female.
Recently, automobile manufacturers have begun implementing side air bags as a safety feature to mitigate injuries resulting from side impact collisions. Unlike the case for the driver and passenger side air bag, the injury potential to an out-of-position occupant in side airbag loading has not been presented in the literature. The purpose of this research is to evaluate the response of a Hybrid III 5th percentile female dummy and small female cadaver subject to loading by a deploying side air bag.
Recommended Content
Authors
- S. M. Duma - Automobile Safety Laboratory, University of Virginia, 1011 Linden Avenue, Charlottesville, VA, 22902
- J. R. Crandall - Automobile Safety Laboratory, University of Virginia, 1011 Linden Avenue, Charlottesville, VA, 22902
- R. W. Rudd - Automobile Safety Laboratory, University of Virginia, 1011 Linden Avenue, Charlottesville, VA, 22902
- J. R. Funk - Automobile Safety Laboratory, University of Virginia, 1011 Linden Avenue, Charlottesville, VA, 22902
- W. D. Pilkey - Automobile Safety Laboratory, University of Virginia, 1011 Linden Avenue, Charlottesville, VA, 22902
Topic
Citation
Duma, S., Crandall, J., Rudd, R., Funk, J. et al., "Small Female Head and Neck Interaction With a Deploying Side Air Bag," SAE Technical Paper 1999-13-0013, 1999.Also In
References
- Duma, SM Crandall, JR Pilkey, WD Seki, K Aoki, T Dynamic Response of the Hybrid III 3 year Old Dummy Head and Neck During Side Air Bag Loading 42nd Annual Proceedings from the Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine 1998
- Kallieris, D Schmidt, G Neck Response and Injury Assessment Using Cadavers and the US-SID for Far-side Lateral Impacts of Rear Seat Occupants with Inboard-anchored Shoulder Belts 34th Stapp Car Crash Conference 1990
- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Development of Improved Injury Criteria for the Assessment of Advanced Automotive Restraint Systems Docket No. NHTSA 98-4405; 49 CFR Parts 571, 585, 587, and 595, Notice 1, RIN 2127-AG70 1998
- Sieveka, EM Crandall, JR Duma, SM Pilkey, WD Development and Application of a Side Airbag Computer Model Using a Multi-Body Dynamics Program 16th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles Windsor, Canada 1998