Comparison of Front Passenger Hybrid III 5 ^th Percentile Female Nij Response in 35mph Flat Rigid Barrier Test with Linear & Pitching Sled 2016-01-1527

The introduction of a revised New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) frontal crash test in the US has been challenging due to more stringent Anthropomorphic Test Device (ATD) rating metrics such as neck injury (Nij). These ATD responses in full vehicle tests may be under-predicted with conventional linear sleds because they are not capable of reproducing the pitching effect seen in some vehicle tests.

The primary objective of this study was to confirm the effects of pitching sled on front passenger 5th %ile female ATD Nij response by comparing prototype vehicle test to pitching sled and linear sled tests. A second objective was to confirm that newly introduced pitching sled with enhanced pitching capability was able to reproduce similar vehicle kinematics when compared to a baseline vehicle test.

Comparing peak ATD responses between the linear and pitching sleds to prototype vehicle showed Nij at matched vehicle peak timing deviated by 55% in linear sled, 5% in pitching sled with correlated vehicle kinematics and 25% when vehicle pitching was attenuated compared to baseline. Pitching sled with correlated vehicle kinematics varied by 0.6 degrees at maximum deviation from the baseline. Vertical movement of a known point on the rocker deviated by less than 4% from baseline. The pitching sled was able to reproduce similar ATD response and vehicle motions when compared to baseline vehicle test. This shows reproduction of pitching motion on the sled could be integral in some cases to accurately reproducing Nij during sled testing.