Instrument-Panel Head Form Impact Test: Effects of Different Impactors & Test Methodologies

Head impact protection is one of the major criteria for occupant safety. Testing labs across the world use two kinds of impactor i.e. linear impactor and pendulum impactor for development of interior fitments. There has always been debate on the usage of these impactors among vehicle manufacturers and testing agencies. Three different kinds of impact methods are widely used by OEM's and testing agencies namely:

1. 1.
   Linear impactor in longitudinal plane (LILP)
2. 2.
   Pendulum impactor in longitudinal plane (PILP)
3. 3.
   Pendulum impactor in accidental plane (PIAP)

This paper studies different impact testing methods. Head form impacts have been carried out on standard instrument panel of same production batch at selected points with accurate & repetitive physical setting in order to reduce the statistical variations. Laboratory test results were correlated with simulation results. Impact simulations have been used all over the world for development purposes [1]. This paper highlights the effect of head form trajectory and type of impactor on deceleration levels.