Biomechanical Experiments with Animals on Abdominal Tolerance Levels

In order to improve the active safety and the aerodynamic drag a special rear end configuration was developed for the Porsche 911 (4)⁺. Typical sequences of movements were determined during impact tests in the course of which dummies were hit by various rear end variants. It was stated that some pedestrians and cyclists incurred direct abdominal impacts. To find out whether under real traffic situations and in a speed range of 16 through 24 km/h this type of collision results in intraabdominal injuries, 12 corresponding test series with Göttingen minipigs were carried through in the course of which the test animals were projected against various rear end variants. Measurements were made to determine the forces and accelerations acting on the respective rear end. The acceleration to which the animal was subjected was measured by means of an acceleration sensor sutured to the test subject's back. In addition the point of impact on the animal's body was determined. Immediately following the test, the animals were dissected and the interior organs microscopically examined. When impacting against a flexible rear end structure of a mass of 8.5 kg the limit between AIS grades 3 and 4 is located at approximately 1471.5 N for a duration of up to 5 ms. Under the given test conditions the tolerance limit between a subacute and an acute shock is at approximately 981 N for a duration of up to 20 ms. When hitting against non-flexible structures, the abdominal region incurred particularly severe injuries, which in two cases were only insufficiently recorded due to the monoaxial force measurement. With certain restrictions, the results obtained may be applied to an 8 to 12 year old child.