Biomechanical assessment of a rear-seat inflatable seatbelt in frontal impacts

wbldb

Sundararajan, Srinivasan¹; Rouhana, Stephen W.¹; Board, Derek¹; DeSmet, Ed¹; Prasad, Priya¹; Rupp, Jonathan D.²; Miller, Carl S.²; Schneider, Lawrence W.²

Biomechanical assessment of a rear-seat inflatable seatbelt in frontal impacts

Stapp Car Crash J. 2011;55:161-197

©2011 The Stapp Association

Affiliations

¹Ford Motor Company

²University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute
Abstract and keywords

This study evaluated the biomechanical performance of a rear-seat inflatable seatbelt system and compared it to that of a 3-point seatbelt system, which has a long history of good real-world performance. Frontal-impact sled tests were conducted with Hybrid III anthropomorphic test devices (ATDs) and with post mortem human subjects (PMHS) using both restraint systems and a generic rear-seat configuration. Results from these tests demonstrated: a) reduction in forward head excursion with the inflatable seatbelt system when compared to that of a 3-point seatbelt and; b) a reduction in ATD and PMHS peak chest deflections and the number of PMHS rib fractures with the inflatable seatbelt system and c) a reduction in PMHS cervical-spine injuries, due to the interaction of the chin with the inflated shoulder belt. These results suggest that an inflatable seatbelt system will offer additional benefits to some occupants in the rear seats. Further research is needed to assess the field effectiveness, customer comfort and acceptance and change in the belt usage rate with the inflatable seatbelt system.

Keywords: Seatbelts, inflatable seatbelts, harness belts, 3-point seatbelts, shoulder belts, biomechanics, and frontal impacts

Cited Works (10)

Year	Entry
2010	Sahraei E, Digges K, Marzougui D. Reduced protection for belted occupants in rear seats relative to front seats of new model year vehicles. In: 54th Annual Proceedings, Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM). October 17-20, 2010; Las Vegas, NV.149-158.
2010	Bilston LE, Du W, Brown J. A matched-cohort analysis of belted front and rear seat occupants in newer and older model vehicles shows that gains in front occupant safety have outpaced gains for rear seat occupants. Accid Anal Prev. November 2010;42(6):1974-1977.
2005	Kuppa S, Saunders J, Fessahaie O. Rear seat occupant protection in frontal crashes. In: Proceedings of the 19th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV). June 6-9, 2005; Washington, DC.
2003	Mertz HJ, Irwin AL, Prasad P. Biomechanical and scaling bases for frontal and side impact injury assessment reference values. Stapp Car Crash J. 2003;47:155-188. SAE 2003-22-0009.
1991	Yoganandan N, Skrade D, Pintar FA, Reinartz J, Sances A Jr. Thoracic deformation contours in a frontal impact. In: Proceedings of the 35th Stapp Car Crash Conference. November 18-20, 1991; San Diego, CA. Warrendale, PA: Society of Automotive Engineers:47-63. SAE 912891.
1991	Horsch JD, Horn G, McCleary JD. Investigation of inflatable belt restraints. In: Proceedings of the 35th Stapp Car Crash Conference. November 18-20, 1991; San Diego, CA. Warrendale, PA: Society of Automotive Engineers:237-250. SAE 912905.
2009	Trowbridge MJ, Kent R. Rear-seat motor vehicle travel in the U.S. using national data to define a population at risk. Am J Prev Med. 2009;37(4):321-323.
2008	Michaelson J, Forman J, Kent R, Kuppa S. Rear seat occupant safety: kinematics and injury of PMHS restrained by a standard 3-point belt in frontal crashes. Stapp Car Crash J. 2008;52:295-325. SAE 2008-22-0012.
2003	Rouhana SW, Bedewi PG, Kankanala SV, Prasad P, Zwolinski JJ, Meduvsky AG, Rupp JD, Jeffreys TA, Schneider LW. Biomechanics of 4-point seat belt systems in frontal impacts. Stapp Car Crash J. 2003;47:367-399. SAE 2003-22-0017.
1983	Schneider LW, Robbins DH, Pflüg MA, Snyder RG. Development of Anthropometrically Based Design Specifications for an Advanced Adult Anthropomorphic Dummy Family, Volume 1. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Traffic Research Institute (UMTRI); December 1983. UMTRI Publication UMTRI-83-53-1.

Cited By (11)

Year	Entry
2019	Jermakian JS, Edwards MA, Fein S, Maltese MR. Factors Contributing to Serious and Fatal Injuries in Belted Rear-Seat Occupants in Frontal Crashes. Arlington, VA: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety; April 2019.
2015	Kent RW, Forman J. Restraint system biomechanics. In: Yoganandan N, Nahum AM, Melvin JW, eds. Accidental Injury: Biomechanics and Prevention. 3rd ed. New York: Springer; 2015:113-141.
2015	Lopez-Valdes FJ, Juste-Lorente O. Innovative restraints to prevent chest injuries in frontal impacts. In: Proceedings of the 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV). June 8-11, 2015; Gothenburg, Sweden.
2013	Kitagawa Y, Yasuki T. Correlation among seatbelt load, chest deflection, rib fracture and internal organ strain in frontal collisions with human body finite element models. In: Proceedings of the 2013 International IRCOBI Conference on the Biomechanics of Injury. September 11-13, 2013; Gothenburg, Sweden.282-316.
2017	Edwards MA, Nash CE. Inflatable shoulder belts and inboard upper anchor shoulder‐belt geometry in far‐side oblique impacts. In: Proceedings of the 2017 International IRCOBI Conference on the Biomechanics of Injury. September 13-15, 2017; Antwerp, Belgium.373-389.
2019	Jin X, Begeman P, Board D, Pline K, Shen M, Sundararajan S, Yang KH. Comparison of small female and mid-sized male PMHS response with an inflatable seatbelt system during frontal impacts. In: Proceedings of the 2019 International IRCOBI Conference on the Biomechanics of Injury. September 11-13, 2019; Florence, Italy.88-101.
2020	Goto M, Kitagawa Y, Schießler M, Eggers A. Comparison of chest responses between THOR 50th percentile dummy and THUMS AM50 version 4 in frontal oblique impact with inflatable seatbelt. In: Proceedings of the 2020 International IRCOBI Conference on the Biomechanics of Injury. 2020; Munich, Germany.201-202.
2020	Luttenberger P, Feist F, Kofler D, Sinz W, D’Addetta GA, Freienstein H, Wolkenstein M. Assessment of future occupant restraint principles in autonomous vehicles. In: Proceedings of the 2020 International IRCOBI Conference on the Biomechanics of Injury. 2020; Munich, Germany.431-455.
2022	Haverfield ZA, Hunter RL, Loftis KL, Agnew AM. Skeletal site and method-dependent variability of bone mineral density in injury biomechanics research. In: Proceedings of the 2022 International IRCOBI Conference on the Biomechanics of Injury. September 14-16, 2022; Porto, Portugal.332-360.
2016	Ji P, Zhou Q. Simulate uniform restraint concept for wide‐ranging crash protection. In: Proceedings of the 2016 International IRCOBI Asia Conference on the Biomechanics of Injury. May 16-18, 2016; Seoul, South Korea.87-89.
2013	Rouhana SW, Sundararajan S, Board D, Prasad P, Rupp JD, Miller CS, Jeffreys TA, Schneider LW. Biomechanical considerations for assessing interactions of children and small occupants with inflatable seat belts. Stapp Car Crash J. November 2013;57:89-137.