THE NEW CAR ASSESSMENT PROGRAM: HAS IT LED TO STIFFER LIGHT TRUCKS AND VANS OVER THE YEARS?

In the New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) frontal crash tests, vehicles are crashed at 35 mph such that the entire front impacts against a rigid, fixed barrier. Instrumented anthropometric dummies are placed in the driver and right front passenger seats. Accelerometers are placed on the vehicle to record the response of the structure during the crash. In this paper, the acceleration data from accelerometers in the occupant compartment and from the dummies are analyzed to determine: (1) the trend of total stiffness or aggressivity characteristics of light trucks and vans (LTVs) since model year 1983; (2) the trend of the approximate linear stiffness of LTVs during the first 200 mm of crush since model year 1983; and (3) the effect of these structural characteristics on the NCAP safety ratings.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/0768003741
• Corporate Authors:

  Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)

  400 Commonwealth Drive
  Warrendale, PA  United States  15096
• Authors:
  • Park, B T
  • Hackney, J R
  • MORGAN, R M
  • Chan, H
  • Lowrie, J C
  • Devlin, H E
• Conference:
  • SAE International Congress & Exposition: Vehicle Safety Structure Session
  • Location: Detroit, Michigan
  • Date: 1999-3-1 to 1999-3-4
• Publication Date: 1999-3

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: Appendices; Figures; References;
• Pagination: p. 7-20
• Serial:
  • SAE Special Publications
  • Publisher: Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Acceleration (Mechanics); Accelerometers; Crash tests; Dummies; Frontal crashes; Light trucks; Speed; Stiffness; Trend (Statistics); Vans; Vehicle safety
• Identifier Terms: New Car Assessment Program
• Uncontrolled Terms: Vehicle aggressiveness; Vehicle crush
• Subject Areas: Highways; Research; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment; I91: Vehicle Design and Safety; I95: Vehicle Inspection;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00800276
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0768003741
• Report/Paper Numbers: SAE/SP-99/1442,, SP-1442, SP-1442,
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Oct 24 2000 12:00AM