The European Experimental Vehicles Committee (EEVC) has set up a Working Group to assess and develop test methods for evaluating pedestrian protection for passenger cars. The methods are sub-systems tests to the bumper, the bonnet leading edge and the bonnet top. Test conditions appropriate for vehicle to pedestrian impacts of upto 40 km/h are considered, with adjustments made to allow for the influence of the vehicles' frontal shape. Computer simulations using the MADYMO CVS program are performed by TNO to better understand the complex kinematics of a pedestrian accident. The influence of vehicle shape and pedestrian anthropometry is analysed, as well as the influence of vehicle speed, vehicle stiffness and walking position of the pedestrian. Based on these simulations, test conditions for the three sub-system tests are proposed.
Abstract