Measurement protocol for quantifying vehicle damage from an energy basis point of view.

Work is expended by the deformation of a motor vehicle in an accident. Relating this work to changes in kinetic energy or change in velocity during impact is an important step in reconstructing accident speeds and crash severity. The calculation of such work will depend upon the nature of the vehicle deformation and certain properties of the vehicle. This paper discusses a protocol for the quantitative description of vehicle deformation.