Response Corridors for Blunt Impacts to the Back

Abstract

Corridors for the biofidelity of blunt impact to the back are important for sled and crash testing with Anthropomorphic Test Devices (ATDs). The Hybrid III is used in rear sled tests as part of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) 202a. The only corridor for biofidelity is the neck extension. Eight Post Mortem Human Subjects (PMHS) were subjected to 20 blunt impacts with a 15.2 cm (6 in.) diameter pendulum weighing 23.4 kg. The impact was below T1 at 4.5 m/s and 6.7 m/s and below T6 at 4.5 m/s centered on the back. Head, neck, and chest responses were reported in 2001 [8]. In this study, the responses were scaled to the 50th male Hybrid III, and corridors were determined defining biofidelity for blunt impacts to the back. The scaled data gives an average peak force of 3.44 kN ± 0.74 kN at T1 and 4.5 m/s, 5.08 kN ± 1.35 kN at T1 and 6.7 ms, and 3.4 kN ± 1.2 kN at T6 and 4.5 m/s. The corresponding scaled deflection was 44.0 ± 19.7 mm, 60.2 ± 21.2 mm, and 53.1 ± 16.5 mm. The average stiffness of the back was 1.21 kN/cm at T1 and 4.5 m/s, 1.17 kN/cm at T1 and 6.7 m/s, and 1.14 kN/cm at T6 and 4.5 m/s. The corridors help to define biofidelity and can be used to assess the performance of the Hybrid III, Biofidelic Rear Impact Dummy (BioRID) II, and other ATDs.