Crash tests

The objective of this study was to assess the accuracy of using high-speed frontal barrier crash tests to predict the impact speed, i.e. equivalent barrier speed (EBS), of a lower-speed frontal barrier crash. Force-displacement (F-D) curves were produced by synchronizing the load cell barrier (LCB) data with the accelerometer data. Our analysis revealed that the F-D curves, including the rebound phase, for the same vehicle model at the same impact speed were generally similar. The test vehicle crush at the time of barrier separation, determined from the F-D curves, was on average 17±16% (N = 150) greater than the reported maximum hand-measured residual crush to the bumper cover. The EBS calculated from the F-D curves was on average 4±4% (N=158) greater than the reported EBS, indicating that using F-D curves derived from LCB data is a reliable method for calculating vehicle approach energy in a crash test. Our method of using F-D curves from high-speed tests to predict the EBS of a lower-speed barrier crash overestimated the EBS of actual lower-speed tests by an average of 21±9% (N = 129). Further work in developing and refining our method is needed to improve the accuracy of predicting a lower-speed EBS.

Anthropomorphic dummies for crash and escape system testing have been used by military and civilian agencies for many
years to assess, develop and standardize safer occupant protective systems for land and air vehicles. The automotive industry
has spent considerable effort in designing crash test dummies that are biofidelic; i.e., dummies that duplicate the properties of
a representative human subject on which injury risk is to be assessed. The major adult crash test dummies currently in use are
the Hybrid II and its development into the Hybrid III for frontal impacts, and Side Impact Dummy (SID), Biofidelic Side
Impact Dummy (BIOSID) and European Side Impact Dummy (EUROSID 1) for side impact tests. The US Air Force
developed the Advanced Dynamic Anthropomorphic Manikin (ADAM) to test advanced ejection systems. More recently,
biodynamic analytical models such as MAthematical DYnamical MOdel (MADYMO) and Articulated Total Body (ATB)
model have been developed to simulate human responses and injuries associated with vehicular impacts.

The last decade has witnessed an increased number of vehicles and increased vehicle speed on roads such that the frequency and severity of run-off roadway accidents has increased dramatically. Evaluation of guardrail system performance as an element of providing a safe environment for vehicles and to reduce occupant injuries is deemed to be vital issue. Hence, this paper is going to assess deflection and vehicle trajectory of current guardrail systems. For this purpose, the results of full-scale crash tests for different types of guardrail system are collected from previous crash tests available in the literature. The results showed that for Test 3–11 (according to NCHRP Report 350) with similar post spacing (1905 mm), the trend of vehicle exit speed declined while guardrail maximum permanent deflection increased. In addition, among all system types, guardrail with curb and Thrie-beam guardrail systems were subjected to the lowest amount of deflection although Thrie-beam guardrail was subjected to higher average values for both vehicle exit speed and exit angle. Further, weak-post guardrail system showed to have the highest maximum dynamic and permanent deformation compared to other systems whereas it caused the lowest exit angle to the vehicles.

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13588265.2013.815020#.UfDc3ayTX1U

Existing rigid body dynamics and finite element computer codes do not have adequate databases for manikin neck structures to properly model head/neck system dynamics occurring in crash or ejection testing. This report describes measured static stiffness and dynamic damping and stiffness characteristics of the Hybrid II and Hybrid III manikin necks and uses these data to improve the current manikin neck data sets of the Articulated Total Body (ATB) model and the Head Spine Model (HSM). The Hybrid II and Hybrid III manikin necks are used extensively throughout the automotive industry, the Department of Transportation, and the Department of Defense for safety testing.

Road safety barriers protect vehicles from roadside hazards by redirecting errant vehicles in a safe manner as well as providing high levels of safety during and after impact. This paper focused on transition safety barrier systems which were located at the point of attachment between a bridge and roadside barriers. The aim of this study was to provide an overview of the behavior of transition systems located at upstream bridge rail with different designs and performance levels. Design factors such as occupant risk and vehicle trajectory for different systems were collected and compared. To achieve this aim a comprehensive database was developed using previous studies. The comparison showed that Test 3–21, which is conducted by impacting a pickup truck with speed of 100 km/h and angle of 25° to transition system, was the most severe test. Occupant impact velocity and ridedown acceleration for heavy vehicles were lower than the amounts for passenger cars and pickup trucks, and in most cases higher occupant lateral impact ridedown acceleration was observed on vehicles subjected to higher levels of damage. The best transition system was selected to give optimum performance which reduced occupant risk factors using the similar crashes in accordance with Test 3–21.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001457513002285

Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) researchers performed an extensive literature review of bridge railing transitions crash tested to Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH) TL-3, and incorporated the information obtained from this review into the design and details for the new transition testing developed for this project. TTI researchers developed concepts for the new transition anchored to a concrete wing wall. TTI researchers developed a full-scale, three-dimensional finite element model of the guardrail transition. The modeling effort included developing and validating a subcomponent level model of the post installed on concrete. Upon completion of the simulations, TTI researchers processed the results and assessed the likelihood of the transition system passing the required MASH crash tests. TTI researchers noted the design deficiencies and recommended design modifications to the system to mitigate those deficiencies. TTI researchers developed full-scale test installation drawings of the design after the finite element model simulations were completed and all the results were reviewed with favorable results. After approval of the test installation drawings by Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), construction of a full-scale test installation for crash testing commenced, and crash tests were performed on the full-scale test installation. The Guardrail to Rigid Barrier Transition Attached to Bridge or Culvert Structure, used on the upstream and downstream ends, performed acceptably for MASH TL-3 transitions.

In conjunction with its development of high performance air bags for small cars in the early 1970's, Minicars, Inc. attempted to provide truly passive protection in all accident modes. The passive interior concept was epitomized in the design for NHTSA of the Minicars Research Safety Vehicle (RSV) (1,2), the Large Research Safety Vehicle (3), then applied to the Chevrolet Citation in the Modified Production Vehicle program (MIV) (4) and incorporated and publicized to some extent in General Motors X and J cars (5) in the late 70's and early 80's.

Maintenance of the road should be carried out in order to provide the user with comfortable and safety. When repairing the road, it is generally feasible to block the lane and the construction of the road is insufficient for the safety of the occupants. The purpose of this research is to develop block link type movable barriers for protecting the road worker’s safety and conduct an evaluation of the occupant safety performance through the full scale crash test. Development target was set at SB2 and the test was conducted as internal test before certification test in two types, with and without side air bumper.

Road safety barriers protect vehicles from roadside hazards by redirecting errant vehicles in a safe manner as well as providing high levels of safety during and after impact. This paper focused on transition safety barrier systems which were located at the point of attachment between a bridge and roadside barriers. The aim of this study was to provide an overview of the behavior of transition systems located at upstream bridge rail with different designs and performance levels. Design factors such as occupant risk and vehicle trajectory for different systems were collected and compared. To achieve this aim a comprehensive database was developed using previous studies. The comparison showed that Test 3-21, which is conducted by impacting a pickup truck with speed of 100 km/h and angle of 25 to transition system, was the most severe test. Occupant impact velocity and ridedown acceleration for heavy vehicles were lower than the amounts for passenger cars and pickup trucks, and in most cases higher occupant lateral impact ridedown acceleration was observed on vehicles subjected to higher levels of damage. The best transition system was selected to give optimum performance which reduced occupant risk factors using the similar crashes in accordance with Test 3-21. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23820073
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001457513002285

Side impact crash test simulates a road crash wherein the side of a vehicle is being impacted, either perpendicularly or at an angle, by the front-end of another vehicle of about similar mass. In Malaysia, this crash configuration is the second leading cause of fatality and injury in road crashes after frontal collision. Extensive research have been carried out worldwide in order to mitigate occupant injury in side impact collision through provision of side impact protection system in vehicle such as side impact airbags and side door bars. As a result, various global regulations and consumer test requirements concerning side impacts have been established to evaluate the effectiveness of the said protection system. Recently, the Malaysian government has implemented the United Nation’s regulation pertaining to side impact protection (UN Regulation 95) for new passenger vehicles in the country. Hence, as a newly established automobile safety rating programme in the region, the ASEAN Ne...

Human body motion during a road accident usually results from the effect of forces of inertia. The analysis of that motion, particularly displacements towards the vehicle interior have significant practical aspect as it facilitates conclusions concerning the mechanisms of danger and injury formation. At the same time, the analysis provides direct indications regarding the improvement of passive safety equipment. The paper presents the time-space diagrams of motion of dummy’s head, neck, torso and hips – the driver of a frame chassis vehicle, identified on the basis of results of the measurements registered in frontal barrier impact and the frame-by-frame analysis of videos recorded during the course of experiment. Courses of these diagrams were associated with acceleration measurement results and forces affecting the parts of the dummy. The experiment showed the complex nature of the influence on the dummy caused by the forces of inertia after a collision of the vehicle with an barr...

Qualitatively comparing the shapes of time histories to validate experiments with computational simulations is a common technique in both general computational mechanics as well as computational roadside safety. Qualitative comparisons, however, are subjective and open to interpretation. A variety of quantitative metrics are available for comparing time history data as well but developing acceptance criteria for these methods often relies on equally imprecise engineering judgment. This paper presents the results of time-history comparisons of 10 essentially identical full-scale vehicle re-directional crash tests with a vertical concrete wall. Five of the crash tests used exactly the same type of vehicle whereas the other five used a similar vehicle that was within the EN1317 test vehicle specifications for that class of vehicle. A variety of quantitative shape comparison metrics were calculated for each set of repeated crash test cases and the results are presented. The results are ...

ASEAN New Car Assessment Program (ASEAN NCAP) is a newly established automobile safety rating program in the Southeast Asia region, which the primary objective is to provide consumers with vehicle safety information and concurrently acknowledge manufacturers’ effort in elevating vehicle safety level. This information is comprehensively gathered through scientific and objective testing procedures in full scale crash test simulation. To ensure consistency and high repeatability, ASEAN NCAP operates standardized test and assessment protocols which utilize high-tech equipment and sensors, data acquisition system and also human surrogates (instrumented “dummies”). A point system is derived for marking purposes and a star rating scheme is designed to reflect the level of safety afforded to occupants. To cater for variation in crash configurations, occupants’ sizes and kinematics as well as other potential risks during crash impacts, a point deduction system (penalty-based) named as “modif...

The last decade has witnessed an increased number of vehicles and increased vehicle speed on roads such that the frequency and severity of run-off roadway accidents has increased dramatically. Evaluation of guardrail system performance as an element of providing a safe environment for vehicles and to reduce occupant injuries is deemed to be vital issue. Hence, this paper is going to assess deflection and vehicle trajectory of current guardrail systems. For this purpose, the results of full-scale crash tests for different types of guardrail system are collected from previous crash tests available in the literature. The results showed that for Test 3-11 (according to NCHRP Report 350) with similar post spacing (1905 mm), the trend of vehicle exit speed declined while guardrail maximum permanent deflection increased. In addition, among all system types, guardrail with curb and Thrie-beam guardrail systems were subjected to the lowest amount of deflection although Thrie-beam guardrail was subjected to higher average values for both vehicle exit speed and exit angle. Further, weak-post guardrail system showed to have the highest maximum dynamic and permanent deformation compared to other systems whereas it caused the lowest exit angle to the vehicles. © 2013 Taylor and Francis.

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13588265.2013.815020#.UrvmF_uA_5M

Side impact crash test simulates a road crash wherein the side of a vehicle is being impacted, either perpendicularly or at an angle, by the front-end of another vehicle of about similar mass. In Malaysia, this crash configuration is the second leading cause of fatality and injury in road crashes after frontal collision. Extensive research have been carried out worldwide in order to mitigate occupant injury in side impact collision through provision of side impact protection system in vehicle such as side impact airbags and side door bars. As a result, various global regulations and consumer test requirements concerning side impacts have been established to evaluate the effectiveness of the said protection system. Recently, the Malaysian government has implemented the United Nation’s regulation pertaining to side impact protection (UN Regulation 95) for new passenger vehicles in the country. Hence, as a newly established automobile safety rating programme in the region, the ASEAN Ne...

Anthropometric Test Devices (ATDs) of different nominal percentile values have long been used as human surrogates in automotive crash testing. The Hybrid III family, which is one of the widely used ATDs in frontal crash test, was designed based on the anthropometry dimensions of US adults. Thus, this paper aims to assess the anthropometric differences between Malaysian adults and Hybrid III dummies in terms of 5 th percentile (small female), 50 th percentile (midsize male) and 95 th percentile (large male). A series of anthropometric parameters of Malaysian adults was obtained from a database of 1321 subjects with 708 males and 613 females. The results revealed that the current midsize male population differs from the ATD's statures and body weights by about 35 and 40 percentile points, respectively. This demonstrates that the current ATDs are not truly representative of the current Malaysian adults, which may potentially lead to different injury responses in road traffic crashes. Thus, car manufacturers may as well consider this discrepancy issue in developing their future models especially with regards to safety.

Road safety barriers protect vehicles from roadside hazards by redirecting errant vehicles in a safe manner as well as providing high levels of safety during and after impact. This paper focused on transition safety barrier systems which were located at the point of attachment between a bridge and roadside barriers. The aim of this study was to provide an overview of the behavior of transition systems located at upstream bridge rail with different designs and performance levels. Design factors such as occupant risk and vehicle trajectory for different systems were collected and compared. To achieve this aim a comprehensive database was developed using previous studies. The comparison showed that Test 3-21, which is conducted by impacting a pickup truck with speed of 100 km/h and angle of 25° to transition system, was the most severe test. Occupant impact velocity and ridedown acceleration for heavy vehicles were lower than the amounts for passenger cars and pickup trucks, and in most cases higher occupant lateral impact ridedown acceleration was observed on vehicles subjected to higher levels of damage. The best transition system was selected to give optimum performance which reduced occupant risk factors using the similar crashes in accordance with Test 3-21.

Side impact crash test simulates a road crash wherein the side of a vehicle is being impacted, either perpendicularly or at an angle, by the front-end of another vehicle of about similar mass. In Malaysia, this crash configuration is the second leading cause of fatality and injury in road crashes after frontal collision. Extensive research have been carried out worldwide in order to mitigate occupant injury in side impact collision through provision of side impact protection system in vehicle such as side impact airbags and side door bars. As a result, various global regulations and consumer test requirements concerning side impacts have been established to evaluate the effectiveness of the said protection system. Recently, the Malaysian government has implemented the United Nation’s regulation pertaining to side impact protection (UN Regulation 95) for new passenger vehicles in the country. Hence, as a newly established automobile safety rating programme in the region, the ASEAN Ne...