This paper presents details of proposed improvements to the ways that full-scale crash test data are analysed. In particular, the basic formulation of the flail space method presented in NCHRP Report 230 is shown to contain several simplifications that have never before been examined in detail. The NCHRP Report 230 formulation and its history are briefly reviewed, followed by an extensive discussion of improvements that would make the flail space method more physically correct and more general. The potential sources and magnitudes of error in the current model are explored, and new techniques are described. Examples using actual crash test data are provided to illustrate typical magnitudes of error associated with each simplification. A computer program is briefly described that implements these improvements.
Samenvatting