Comparison of dynamic responses of the THOR-NT and Hybrid III in offset frontal crash test

Yaguchi, Masayuki; Ono, Koshiro; Masuda, Mitsutoshi; Watamori, Takatomo; Seshita, Takeshi; Hibino, Tatsuya

A64 km/h offset frontal crash test was conducted with the THOR-NT and Hybrid III to investigate the responses of both dummies under a crash situation that includes both deformation and rotational behavior of a vehicle.

Though the dummies were installed in the driver seat according to the ECE R94 positioning procedure, their postures were slightly different. The head and heels of the THOR-NT were positioned rearward. Similarly, the shoulders and kneeswere positioned forward compared to the Hybrid-III. Therefore, it is expected that these differenceswill affect the responses of both dummies.

During the tests, both dummies showed similar kinematics, except for the rotation about Z-axis of the head, and the contact situation to the instrument panel of the arms.

For the injury measures, the chest acceleration of the THOR-NT showed sharp inclination at 100ms to 120ms, presumed to be caused by the contact between the arms and instrument panel. The initial time history curve of the lap belt force was approximately the same between both dummies; however, themaximumforce of the THOR-NT was less than half of the Hybrid III. For this difference, it was strongly presumed that more kinetic energy was absorbed by the knee bolster for the THOR-NT since its longer femur shortened the initial clearance between the knee and knee bolster. In addition, it was also presumed that the difference of the flesh characteristics around the iliacwing between both dummies affected the results.

The injury measures of both dummies were compared to the injury criteria specified in FMVSS 208 and ECE R94. As for the results, almost equivalent values between the two dummieswere observed.

Moreover, as reference, the additional injury measures in theTHOR-NTare shown in this paper.

Year

Entry

2001

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1992

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2005

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1998

Rangarajan N, White R Jr, Shams T, Beach D, Fullerton J, Haffner MP, Eppinger RE, Pritz H, Rhule D, Dalmotas D, Fournier E. Design and performance of the THOR advanced frontal crash test dummy thorax and abdomen assemblies. In: Proceedings of the 16th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV). May 31–June 4, 1998; Windsor, Ontario, Canada.1999-2010.

1977