High Chest Accelerations in the Hybrid III Dummy Due to Interference in the Hip Joint

The design of the Hybrid III dummy's hip joint limits the allowable relative rotation between the dummy's lower torso and femur assembly. This limited motion is thought to cause abnormally high chest accelerations in some front barrier crash tests.

This paper describes static testing and computer modeling to quantify the hip joint range of motion and its effect on dummy chest accelerations. To verify model results, a series of HYGE sled tests were completed using modified hip joints.