An Application of Car Crash Test Technology to a Causal Investigation of a Revolving Door Accident

On March 26, 2004, a fatal accident occurred when the head of a 6-year-old child was trapped in a large revolving door in a high-rise building in Tokyo. To investigate the cause of the accident, Prof. Yotaro Hatamura, representing Hatamura Institute for the Advancement of Technology, gathered experts in various fields including architecture and door manufacture, and initiated the “Door Project,” with the cooperation of the building company. Nissan Motor Co. participated in this project, and conducted load measurement tests on various doors. Applying car crash test technology, including production of special door test dummies and high-speed photography, it was possible to simulate the accident while taking human movement into account. As a result, we obtained important data for accident cause investigation. In this paper, we report the results of application of car crash test technology through an introduction of test results on various doors, and envisage the possibility of future contribution of this technology to man-machine safety issues.