Instrumentation for the study of submarining on the Hybrid II test dummy has already been described in a previous paper. The instrumentation consisted basically of two two-dimensional (2D) force transducers installed in the dummy's pelvis. The system has been evaluated, improved and installed on the 50th percentile Hybrid III dummy. The aim of this paper is to describe the general concept arrived at through this study, namely: (1) Detection of movement of the lap-belt via a simple system installed in the iliac wing of the pelvis; and (2) masurement of the amplitude of submarining via a 2D force transducer installed back from the iliac crests. The assembly was tested in various impact configurations (subsystem and sled configuration tests). The corresponding results show that the system detects submarining well and does not affect the overall response of the instrumented dummy by comparison with a standard dummy. The new system detecting seat-belt slippage was also installed on the 5th percentile Hybrid III dummy. Sled tests gave reliable recordings of the detection of submarining. From the results available, it seems that the two versions presented (50th and 5th percentile) enable improved study of submarining and accordingly the optimization of occupant restraint systems. (A)
Abstract