Dashboard Stiffness Control for Reducing Knee Injury in Frontal Crashes

In frontal crashes, one of the primary reasons for occupant injuries is hard contact with the vehicle interiors. While restraints like airbags, seat belt pre-tensioners etc. help in preventing direct contact of the upper body region; vehicle interiors play a critical role in controlling the lower body region injuries. Knee injuries can be controlled in various ways as follows:

• Avoiding contact with the dashboard by use of buckle pre-tensioners etc.
• Using restraints like knee airbags
• Optimizing the dashboard profile and stiffness at the contact locations

All the above options have their own advantages and limitations. This paper explains the effect of dashboard stiffness tuning for controlling knee injuries in a frontal crash. The development methodology and some validation tools are discussed using a case study.