IN A COLLISION IN WHICH ONE CAR IS STRUCK FROM THE SIDE BY ANOTHER, IT WOULD SEEM THAT THE ONLY WAY TO PROTECT THE OCCUPANT ON THE COLLISION SIDE (ASSUMING THE OPTIMUM REALISTICALLY ATTAINABLE RIGIDITY OF THE PASSENGER COMPARTMENT) IS BY PADDING THE INSIDE SURFACES OF THE SIDES OF THE VEHICLE (CENTRE PILLARS, DOOR PANELS, REAR SIDE PANELS, AND SIDE BOARDS) WITH MATERIALS HAVING HIGH ENERGY-ABSORPTION PROPERTIES (FOAMS, COMBINATION OF SHEET METAL AND FOAM). TO OPTIMISE SUCH MATERIALS IT IS NECESSARY TO CONDUCT A NUMBER OF TESTS IN WHICH THE MAIN COLLISION PARAMETERS (MASS, RIGIDITY, VELOCITY, ESPECIALLY VELOCITY OF THE SIDE OF THE VEHICLE) ARE VARIED. TO DO THIS AT A RELATIVELY LOW COST, AN EXPERIMENTAL SET UP WAS DEVELOPED, WHICH MAKES IT POSSIBLE TO CARRY OUT DYNAMIC TESTS WITHOUT DESTROYING THE VEHICLES. THIS PAPER DESCRIBES THIS EXPERIMENTAL SET UP. (A) FOR THE COVERING ABSTRACT OF SECTION 5 SEE IRRD 266063. FOR THE COVERING ABSTRACT OF THE CONFERENCE SEE IRRD 266046.
Samenvatting