Dynamic response of the Hybrid III three year old dummy head and neck during side air bag loading

Abstract

This paper presents the results from 14 tests designed to evaluate the response and injury potential of a Hybrid III three year old dummy subject to loading by a deploying seat mounted side air bag. An instrumented Hybrid III three year old dummy was used for tests in two different occupant positions chosen to maximize head and neck loading. Four seat mounted thoracic side air bags were used that varied only in the level of inflator output. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's neck injury criteria for complex loading were modified to include moment values for both anterioposterior and lateral directions. The results indicate that side air bags may be designed so that the forces and moments in the child dummy's neck are below injury threshold values during a side air bag deployment. While there is considerable uncertainty as to the validity of published injury criteria owing to the lack of child biomechanical data, this study demonstrates the sensitivity of child response to initial position which provides insight into placement and geometry of side airbag systems. Furthermore, the data indicate a relationship between airbag inflator properties and child dummy response for a given airbag geometry.

Keywords

automobile side air bag child head neck cervical spine Hybrid III

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Irwin

A. L.

Mertz

H. J.

Biomechanical bases for the CRABI and Hybrid III child dummies. SAE paper 973317, 1997.

Sturtz

Repetition of real-child pedestrian accidents using a highly instrumented dummy. In Proceedings of International Research Council on Biomechanics of Impact, Lyon, France, 1978.

Planath

Rygaard

Nilsson

Synthesis of data towards neck protection criteria for children. In Proceedings of International Research Council on Biomechanics of Impact, 1992.

Patrick

L. M.

Nyquist

G. W.

Airbag effects on the out-of-position child. SAE paper 720442, 1972.

Backaitis

S. H.

Medlin

J. W.

Radovich

V. G.

Stalnaker

R. L.

Shah

M. P.

Shaffer

J. T.

Letscher

R. M.

Performance evaluation of child dummies and baboons in child restraint systems in a systemized crash environment. SAE paper 751153, 1975.

Mertz

H. J.

Weber

D. A.

Interpretations of the impact responses of a 3-year-old child dummy relative to child injury potential. SAE paper 826048, 1982.

Mertz

H. J.

Prasad

Irwin

A. L.

Injury risk curves for children and adults in frontal and rear collisions. SAE paper 973318, 1997.

Injury Impairment Scale, 1994 (Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine, Des Plaines, Illinois).

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Docket No. NHTSA 98-4405; 49 CFR Parts 571, 585, 587 and 595, Notice 1, RIN 2127-AG70, 1998.

10.

Kallieris

Schmidt

Neck response and injury assessment using cadavers and the US-SID for far-side lateral impacts of rear seat occupants with inboard-anchored shoulder belts. In Proceedings of 34th Stapp Car Crash Conference, Warrendale, Pennsylvania, 1990, pp. 93–100.

11.

Sieveka

E. M.

Crandall

J. R.

Duma

S. M.

Pilkey

W. D.

Development and application of a side airbag computer model using a multi-body dynamics program. In Proceedings of 16th International Technical Conference on Enhanced Safety of Vehicles, Windsor, Canada, 1998.