The SAE Large Male, Small Female, and 6-Year Old Dummies Task Group decided to assess the biofidelity of the sagittal plane hip flexion response of the Hybrid III family of dummies. Human volunteer tests were performed to determine the distribution of maximum upward articulation angles of the femur relative to the pelvis with the knee flexed. The average value for the 52 subjects that were tested was 122 degrees. This value was used to define the angle at which hip joints of adult dummies should begin to stiffen. The average value plus one standard deviation (122 + 13 = 135 degrees) was selected as the hip flexion angle which should not be exceeded when a torque of 340 Nm (250 ft-lb) is applied to the hip joint. The left and right proximal femoral-end castings of the Hybrid III dummy were modified to give symmetric ranges of motion that satisfy the hip flexion resistance requirements without affecting the lap belt interaction with the pelvis. Similar modifications are planned for the small female and large male Hybrid III type dummies.
