EVALUATION OF STIFFNESS MEASURES FROM THE U.S. NEW CAR ASSESSMENT PROGRAM

Stiffness has been used to characterize a vehicle's crash behavior, and how it acts with collision partners and roadside structures. It also plays an important role in restraint design. This paper utilized crash test data from the 1982 to 2001 frontal U.S. New Car Assessment Program to evaluate three methods for computing vehicle stiffness. Test parameters, such as load cell force, dynamic displacement and measured crush, were used to compare stiffness trends in the passenger car fleet. Each method predicted a steady increase in passenger car stiffness. Force-deflection profiles were averaged and examined historically for each passenger car class. Results were compared against light trucks, vans and sport utility vehicles (LTVs) to maintain fleet perspective. The initial stiffness method was then used to quantify stiffness of each passenger car and LTV class. Within some vehicle classes, there was a wide range of initial stiffness measures for a given test weight. For the covering abstract see ITRD E825082.

• Corporate Authors:

  National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590

  MINISTRY OF ECONOMY, TRADE AND INDUSTRY OF JAPAN

  1-3-1, KASUMIGASEKI, CHIYODA-KU
  TOKYO,   Japan  100-8901
• Authors:
  • SWANSON, J
  • ROCKWELL, T
  • BEUSE, N
  • SUMMERS, L
  • Summers, S M
  • Park, B
• Publication Date: 2003-5

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: References;
• Pagination: 13 p.
• Serial:
  • PROCEEDINGS OF 18TH INTERNATIONAL TECHNICAL CONFERENCE ON THE ENHANCED SAFETY OF VEHICLES, HELD NAGOYA, JAPAN, 19-22 MAY 2003
  • Publisher: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Automobiles; Conferences; Crashes; Deformation; Delivery vehicles; Stiffness; Weight
• ITRD Terms: 1243: Car; 1631: Collision; 8525: Conference; 5595: Deformation; 1234: Delivery vehicle; 5931: Stiffness; 5485: Weight
• Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Motor Carriers;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00987381
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Transport Research Laboratory
• Files: ITRD, USDOT
• Created Date: Mar 3 2005 12:00AM