The introduction of the new NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) oblique test configuration presents a new and critical load case that manufacturers are on the way to solving. Towards providing the best tools for passive safety development, this paper presents the work carried out to enable the analysis of the loads transmitted to the barrier in this kind of test. These data enable the identification of the elements of the vehicle that take part in the absorption of energy during the crash and are a valuable tool to improving the safety of vehicles by comparing the loads transmitted to the barrier in oblique tests.
To record these data, a load cell wall system located between the deformable barrier and the trolley was installed. To assess the barrier design, one oblique test with the RMDB barrier was carried out. The deformable barrier for the oblique test is instrumented with 9 columns of 3 and 4 load cells with a total of 32 x-axial load cells. The results obtained for 18 of the load cells were treated and analyzed.
The analysis of the load cell data showed that the distribution of the elements which contribute to the energy absorption can be identified even though a significant amount of the impact energy is transmitted in the form of post-crash displacement of the barrier and the impacted vehicle.
As none of the elements involved in the crash are stationary, the analysis is significantly more complex than in other load cases. Additionally, further analyses should be carried out in order to determine the potential information this tool can provide.