Influence of the chest compression measurement method on assessment of restraint performance in side-impact crash scenarios
Abstract
Side impact crashes contribute a significant number of fatal injuries (25% of road fatalities in the USA in 2016), with severe thoracic injuries diagnosed in 58% of front near-side impact occupants. Epidemiological data indicate that thoracic-only side airbags (tSABs) are not as effective as laboratory testing has suggested, and one of the reasons for this may be the use of surrogate-specific injury assessment methods, which are not directly transferable between Anthropometric Test Devices (ATDs) and Post-Mortem Human Surrogates (PMHSs). This study examines the effect of the thorax deformation measurement location and method on the predicted performance of seatbelts and tSABs in a side impact using a Human Body Model (HBM). The HBM was integrated in a vehicle and subjected to a Moving Deformable Barrier (MDB) impact at 61 km/h, with four restraint configurations: belted and unbelted, with and without a tSAB. Occupant response was assessed through chest band (CB) deformation, and as a change in distance between markers on the ribs. Multiple measurement locations in the HBM enabled direct comparison between the methods. The CB method indicated a 35% increase of chest compression due to tSAB; the rib-deflection (RD) method was not sensitive to the tSAB. The RD method predicted a 20% reduction of chest compression due to the seatbelt, but the CB-measured change was negligible. This study highlights the importance of measurement method on the response outcome and demonstrates that different outcomes may be predicted using a HBM for the same impact scenario, depending on the measurement method.
Cite this version of the work
Donata Gierczycka, Duane S. Cronin
(2018).
Influence of the chest compression measurement method on assessment of restraint performance in side-impact crash scenarios. UWSpace.
http://hdl.handle.net/10012/13440
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