Implementation of Interior Fitting Regulation (ECE R21) in India: Common Failures and Countermeasures in Instrument Panel Development

Head form impact tests are carried out on instrument panel as part of meeting the requirements of the interior fitting regulation ECE R21. India adopted the ECE R21 regulation and interior fitting impact tests became mandatory in April 2005 for models manufactured from April 2005 and April 2006 for models being manufactured before April 2005. Energy dissipation testing of vehicle’s interior fitments is done at various selected and defined locations. With the implementation of interior fitting regulation in India, it is mandatory that every manufacturer tests and certifies their product to comply with the energy dissipation standards as defined in the regulation ECE R21. Extensive interior fitting test program is carried out for various models ranging from MY1993 to MY2003.During the development testing following types of failures were observed:

• Occurrence of surface cracks due to sharp edges and component dislocation.
• High deceleration levels (more than 80g continuously for 3ms) experienced by the head form.

Various counter measures such as material change, reduction in stress concentration area, design for energy absorption and other techniques were adopted to overcome these problems. This paper presents an account of experiences gained during the development program carried out between year 2004 and 2006 for interior fitments.