Simulation of Occupant Response in the ECE R29 Safety Test

This paper discusses the structural assessment of a heavy truck cabin with respect to occupant response in test designed to simulate a frontal collision. ECE R29 describes a series of test conditions to which truck cabins should comply, however these tests do not consider the occupant directly.

ECE-R29 uses prescribed limits of cabin crush to ensure occupant protection rather measuring occupant injury based on Anthropomorphic Test Devices (ATDs), or dummies. The “Swing Bob” dynamic test procedure prescribed by ECE R29 is used as a basis for assessing survivability.

An existing Finite Element model of the truck cabin has been used in conjunction with a Hybrid III 50^th%ile dummy model in the Crash Victim Simulator, MADYMO. A computer analysis has been performed and found that injury to the occupant in the lower leg region in this kind of impact is likely to be survivable.