This paper presents dummy and cadaver experiments designed to investigate the injury potential of an out-of-position (OOP) small female head and neck from a deploying side air bag. Three seat mounted, thoracic type, side air bags were used that varied in inflator aggressivity. The ATB/CVS multi body program was used to identify the worst case loading position for the small female head and neck. Once the initial position was identified, a total of three Hybrid III 5th percentile dummy and three small female cadaver tests were performed. Head center of gravity accelerations for the dummy ranged from 71 g's to 154 g's, and were greater than cadaver values, which ranged from 68 g's to 103 g's. Peak neck tension as measured at the upper load cell of the dummy increased with inflator aggressivity from 992 N to 1670 N. A conservative modification of the United States National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA's ) Nij proposed neck injury criteria, which combines neck tension and bending, was used. All values were well below the 1.0 injury threshold for the dummy and suggested a very low possibility of neck injury. The results of the cadaver tests agreed with this prediction in that no injuries were observed. The dummy neck tension and dummy and cadaver head accelerations correlated very well with air bag inflator characteristics. These tests suggest that the side air bag may be designed to minimize the risk of head and neck injury to the OOP small female.
Abstract