A series of twenty-nine tests was completed by conducting static deployment of side airbag systems to an out-of-position (OOP) Hybrid III three-year-old dummy. The dummy was placed in one of four possible positions for both door- and seat-mounted side airbag systems. It was noted that the head injury criteria (HIC) were maximized for head and neck tests, and the chest injury parameters were maximized for the chest tests. For the neck injury parameters, however, all of the test positions produced high values for at least one of the parameters. Static OOP child dummy side airbag testing is one possible method to evaluate the potential for injury for worst-case scenarios. The outcome of these tests is sensitive to pre-position, and various measurements should be made to reproduce the tests. For the same make and model of airbag, different deployment characteristics were observed and, therefore, duplicate tests should be run for repeatability in future research programmes. For the airbags tested, these data suggest that the kind of tests necessary to evaluate head, neck, and chest injury potential may be limited to two different positions: a head-neck position, and a chest position. Other airbag designs may require evaluation of additional positions. The side airbags evaluated appear to have the potential for injuring the OOP child under worst-case scenarios; the less aggressive airbags reduced this potential.
Abstract