Investigation of the Biofidelity of Human Body Models and ATD Models in Sled Test Conditions

Unique cabin configurations associated with Automated Driving System (ADS) equipped vehicles offer seating options, such as recline, not previously available in conventional vehicles. Occupants seated in a reclined posture may be at an increased risk of submarining. There is relatively little known about the effectiveness of current restraint systems to protect reclined occupants as these systems are traditionally optimized for only upright seated postures. Anthropomorphic Testing Devices (ATDs) with the ability to differentiate between submarining and non-submarining events are vital for the development of restraint systems capable of protecting reclined occupants. This study evaluates the biofidelity of the GHBMC, THUMS, THOR, and THOR-AV finite element (FE) occupant models against two post-mortem human subject (PMHS) test series in respect of submarining behavior. The first test series evaluated upright occupant kinematics in two seat configurations defined in Uriot et al. 2015: a front-seat configuration expected to prevent submarining and a rear-seat configuration expected to allow for submarining. The second tests series evaluated upright and reclined occupant kinematics in a seat configuration as defined in UMTRI test conditions: both configurations expected to prevent submarining. Special consideration was given to pelvis kinematics and submarining response. The four FE occupant models properly differentiated between non-submarining and submarining responses in each of the evaluated test conditions. The NHTSA Biofidelity Ranking System (BRS) was used to objectively evaluate the biofidelity of the models with respect to overall occupant kinematics, as well as interaction with the restraint system (seat, anti-sub ramp, and belts). The BioRank score classifies biofidelity as excellent, good, marginal, or poor. In the first test series, the BRS scores for the interaction between all FE occupants and the restraint system corresponded to good biofidelity, except for THOR in the rear-seat submarining configuration (marginal biofidelity). In the second test series, the BRS scores for the interaction between the FE occupants and the restraint system corresponded to marginal biofidelity. With respect to kinematics, the BRS scores for the FE occupants ranged from good to excellent biofidelity in both test series. For each FE occupant, an average BRS score was calculated from the four test conditions. In terms of the interaction between the occupant and the restraint system, the average BRS scores for the GHBMC, THUMS, and THOR-AV corresponded to good biofidelity, while the average BRS score for the THOR corresponded to marginal biofidelity. With respect to kinematics, the GHBMC, THUMS, THOR, and THOR-AV FE models demonstrated good biofidelity.

• Record URL:
  • https://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/departments/esv/27th/
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/oclc/23-0068
• Corporate Authors:

  National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Conference:
  • 27th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)
  • Location: Yokohama , Japan
  • Date: 2023-4-3 to 2023-4-6
• Publication Date: 2023

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Web
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 30p
• Monograph Title: 27th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV): Enhanced and Equitable Vehicle Safety for All: Toward the Next 50 Years

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Crash tests; Dummies; Intelligent vehicles; Restraint systems; Seats; Vehicle design
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01893399
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 23-0288
• Files: TRIS, ATRI, USDOT
• Created Date: Sep 18 2023 5:10PM