This paper describes a computer modeling system and its application in evaluating several vehicle designs for side impact protection of children and small adults. An analytical study was undertaken to investigate the problem of protecting small vehicle occupants in side impacts. Because the vast majority of the side impact research to date has focused on the 50th percentile adult male, design insights for small and very large occupant sizes are sorely lacking. The main objective for the current study was to evaluate the side impact design requirements for the smaller occupant sizes. A secondary objective was to evaluate the performance of candidate designs for the very large occupant population, represented by the 95th percentile adult male. A computer modeling system, SIFEM, was used to simulate the impact event and to evaluate the vehicle design concepts of interest. The design concepts included: interior padding, a hip restraint device and an airbag system. Data from selected side impact tests were first used to validate the model then extrapolations were made to the crash condition, occupant sizes, and vehicle designs of interest. (A)
Abstract