The present state-of-the-art protection system on front seats features a belt system, incorporating a pretensioner, a load limiter, and an airbag. This protection system is not capable of changing its performance characteristics. The ability of an occupant protection system to adapt itself to dominant crash condition parameters, such as impact speed and type, occupant size and mass, offers a great improvement in occupant protection for a wider range of crash conditions, as well as occupants.

This paper presents first the third generation load limiter, the Adaptive Load Limiter, and conducts the system validation of this belt system using a dual stage airbag. For this purpose sled tests with 5%, 50% and 95% HIII Dummies are carried out.

As a result, a degressive characteristic of belt system load limitation improves chest deceleration of a mid size front occupant by 9%.

The resulting potential reduction of probability for an AIS+4 injury on head and chest for this occupant is 14% !

By depowering the load limitation characteristic the chest loading in terms of chest deflection on small female occupants can be reduced significantly by 15%. For small occupants the resulting potential reduction of probability for an AIS+4 injury on head and chest is 17% !

The high load limitation enables the avoidance of a bottoming out of larger and heavier occupants.

The adaptive load limiter is the first load limiter offering an improved chest loading distribution for the average male occupant through a degressive load limitation and a reduction of chest loading for small female occupants through a depowered load limitation. Additionally the adaptive load limiter satisfies the ECE-R16 Homologation requirement and thus enabling the deactivation of the airbag module for example when utilising child restraint systems.