Six European laboratories have evaluated the biomechanical
response of the new advanced frontal impact dummy THOR-alpha with
respect to the European impact response requirements. The results
indicated that for many of the body regions (e.g., shoulder, spine,
thorax, femur/knee) the THOR-alpha response was close to the human
response.
In addition, the durability, repeatability and sensitivity for
some dummy regions have been evaluated. Based on the tests
performed, it was found that the THOR-alpha is not durable enough.
The lack in robustness of the THOR-alpha caused a problem in
completing the full test program and in evaluating the
repeatability of the dummy.
The results have demonstrated that the assessment of frontal
impact protection can be greatly improved with a more advanced
frontal impact dummy. Regarding biofidelity and injury assessment
capabilities, the THOR-alpha is a good candidate however it needs
to be brought up to standard in other areas. Based on the results
obtained recommendations were defined for the improvement of the
THOR-alpha dummy.