This project involved the development of an anti-whiplash car seat for rear impact collisions. The process involved modifying seat geometry to determine the optimal seatback and head restraint configuration. The intention was to minimise head, neck and T1 accelerations, angles and NIC values. The final design includes a new seatback design that keeps the upper seatback within close proximity to the upper torso. The design can be configured as a concept seat and a standard seat both with and without an active head restraint. Rear impact sled tests with a THOR and a BioRID dummy were conducted to compare the performance of both the concept seat and the standard seat. Analysis included comparison of head and T1 peak accelerations, angles and NIC values. The results for the concept seat show asignificant improvement over the standard seat. The implementation of an active head restraint further reduces the injury potential. This project showed that injury potential can be reduced significantly with the implementation of an occupant conforming seatback and active head restraint. (Author/publisher)
Samenvatting