A SIMULATION STUDY ON INFLATION INDUCED INJURY AND NCAP WITH DEPOWERED AIR BAG
In the United States, air bags are required in all passenger cars and light trucks. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has estimated that almost 2,800 lives have been saved by the air bags. However, air bags designed to protect passengers have, in some situations, caused serious injuries, especially in moderate impacts. Last year, in order to reduce injuries caused by air bag inflation, NHTSA revised the requirements for FMVSS 208 unbelted testing to allow the sled test protocol as a temporary alternative to the frontal barrier vehicle crash test. It is believed that this decision will allow manufacturers to depower air bags by about 20-35 percent, decreasing aggressiveness of air bags during inflation. The NHTSA continues to use the New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) 35mph frontal barrier test as a "measure" of vehicle crashworthiness. The NCAP test report data are widely disseminated to the public as vehicle safety information. This paper evaluates the effects of air bag depowering on dummy measurements under both moderate frontal impact and severe 35mph frontal barrier impact using MADYMO simulations. These simulations suggest that the aggressiveness of the air bag deployment can be greatly reduced in moderate impacts, without compromising occupant protection performance in more severe impacts. (A) For the covering abstract see IRRD E102514.
- Record URL:
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Corporate Authors:
National Highway Safety Advisory Committee
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC United States 20590 -
Authors:
- KIUCHI, T
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Conference:
- 16th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles
- Location: Windsor Ontario, Canada
- Date: 1998-5-31 to 1998-6-4
- Publication Date: 1998-10
Language
- English
Media Info
- Features: References;
- Pagination: p. 2518-25
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Serial:
- Issue Number: DOT HS 808 759
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Air bags; Improvements; Injuries; Prevention; Simulation
- ITRD Terms: 1465: Air bag (restraint system); 9108: Improvement; 2163: Injury; 9149: Prevention; 9103: Simulation
- Subject Areas: Safety and Human Factors; Security and Emergencies;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 00788340
- Record Type: Publication
- Source Agency: Transport Research Laboratory
- Files: ITRD, USDOT
- Created Date: Mar 3 2000 12:00AM