Abstract
Presently, most passive safety tests are performed with a precisely specified seat position and carefully seated ATD (anthropomorphic test device) dummies. Facing the development of autonomous vehicles, as well as the need for safety verification during crashes with various seat positions such research is even more urgently needed. Apart from the numerical environment, the existing testing equipment is not validated to perform such an investigation. For example, ATDs are not validated for nonstandard seatback positions, and the most accurate method of such research is volunteer tests. The study presented here was performed on a sled test rig utilizing a 50cc Hybrid III dummy according to a full factorial experiment. In addition, input factors were selected in order to verify a safe test condition for surrogate testing. The measured value was head acceleration, which was used for calculation of a head injury criterion. What was found was an optimal seat angle −117°—at which the head injury criteria had the lowest represented value. Moreover, preliminary body dynamics showed a danger of whiplash occurrence for occupants in a fully-reclined seat.
Highlights
Most passive safety tests are performed with a determined position of the seat, and the ATD dummies are carefully seated in order to ensure the repeatability of the tests
The research performed here was completed firstly to evaluate the relationship between the crash pulse and the seatback angle on human performance
What was taken into account was the acceleration in the dummy’s head, which was further used for the determination of head injury criterion
Summary
Most passive safety tests are performed with a determined position of the seat, and the ATD (anthropomorphic test device) dummies are carefully seated in order to ensure the repeatability of the tests. Facing the development of smart vehicles which, in theory, requires minimal driver input, allowing various positions of the seat, an extensive investigation into this matter is justified [1–5]. The subject of nonstandard seating positions has been relatively rarely investigated. Even if there is research about reclined seats, they are mostly in the range accessible to the driver. A fully-reclined seat, as, for example, a sleeping passenger, is nearly always omitted. Such investigations are performed almost exclusively in the simulative environment
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