AN ENERGY ABSORBING RESTRAINT SYSTEM

AN ENERGY-ABSORBING RESTRAINT SYSTEM THAT LIMITS THE ACCELERATIONS OF A PASSENGER IN A FORWARD AUTO CRASH TO 20 G'S IS PRESENTED. THE DEVICE ABSORBS ENERGY THROUGH THE CONTINUOUS BENDING OF A STEEL WIRE. RESULTS OF AN ELASTIC- PLASTIC ANALYSIS OF THE DEVICE INDICATE THAT IT CLOSELY APPROXIMATES A CONSTANT FORCE ENERGY ABSORBER; THE FORCE IS ONLY A WEAK FUNCTION OF VELOCITY. PRELIMINARY RESULTS FROM DROP TESTS AND HIGH-SPEED IMPACT TESTS TO 100 MPH INDICATE THAT THE ABSORBER CAN LIMIT ACCELERATION TO A SPECIFIED VALUE. THE RESULTS OF TWO TESTS IN WHICH THE DEVICE WAS USED TO RESTRAIN A VOLUNTEER DURING A HEAD-ON CRASH ARE PRESENTED. THE RESULTS SHOW THAT THE RESTRAINT SYSTEM PROTECTS A MAN IN A FORWARD CRASH BY LIMITING HIS ACCELERATIONS TO A LEVEL BELOW THE THRESHOLD OF INJURY FOR THE VITAL ORGANS. /AUTHOR/

• Corporate Authors:

  Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)

  400 Commonwealth Drive
  Warrendale, PA  United States  15096
• Authors:
  • Maclay, R W
  • BLACKSTONE, F J
  • Das, P K
• Publication Date: 1971

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Acceleration (Mechanics); Constraints; Crash injury research; Crashes; Elastoplasticity; Energy absorbing materials; Passengers; Research; Safety equipment
• Uncontrolled Terms: Elastic plastic analysis
• Old TRIS Terms: Energy absorbers
• Subject Areas: Highways; Passenger Transportation; Research; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00221251
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: Paper 710078
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: May 3 1971 12:00AM