SIDE COLLISIONS ACCOUNTING FOR APPROXIMATELY 10 TO 15% OF ALL PASSENGER CAR ACCIDENTS AND FOR ABOUT 20% OF THE FATALLY INJURED PASSENGER CAR OCCUPANTS, PLAY AN IMPORTANT PART IN THE OVERALL ACCIDENT EVENTS. THE SPECIFIC IMPROVEMENT OF SELF PROTECTION AND PARTNER PROTECTION UNDER CONSIDERATION OF OVERALL ECONOMIC CRITERIA SUCH AS COST/BENEFIT FACTORS, REQUIRES THAT THE QUANTITATIVE INFLUENCE OF CERTAIN ESSENTIAL PARAMETERS ON THE DEFORMATION PROPERTIES OF THE VEHICLE STRUCTURE AND ON THE OCCUPANTS' INJURY SEVERITY BE DETERMINED FROM ACCIDENT ANALYSES AND CORRESPONDING TESTS. ACCORDING TO PERTINENT LITERATURE, SUCH ESSENTIAL PARAMETERS ARE THE COLLISION SPEED, THE MASS RATIO OF THE COLLIDING VEHICLES AS WELL AS THE STRUCTURAL STIFFNESSES (INCLUDING PADDING) OF THE IMPACTING AND IMPACTED VEHICLES. A SERIES OF TESTS WAS PERFORMED WITH THE STIFFNESS OF THE IMPACTED CAR BEING CONSTANT WHILE ONE OF THE OTHER PARAMETERS EACH PER TEST WAS VARIED. THIS IS THE MOST OBVIOUS DIFFERENCE AS COMPARED WITH OTHER TEST SERIES, WHERE DIFFERENT MASS RATIOS AUTOMATICALLY FOR EXAMPLE MEAN ALSO DIFFERENT FRONT END STIFFNESSES. THE RESULTS OF THESE TESTS ARE PRESENTED AND INTERPRETED IN THE PRESENT PAPER.(A) FOR THE COVERING ABSTRACT OF THE CONFERENCE SEE IRRD 802816.
Samenvatting