Citation

Schmitt KU, Muser MH, Heggendorn M, Niederer PF, Walz FH. Proc. Inst. Mech. Eng. Pt. D J. Automobile Eng. 2003; 217(11): 949-955.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2003, Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1243/095440703770383857

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

To prevent whiplash injury, a new seat slide was developed. In the case of a rear-end impact, the device allows the vehicle seat to slide backwards while damping this motion. Deformable steel profiles serve as damping elements. To activate the device, a trigger system is used which detects an acceleration threshold.
Sled test experiments were performed to analyse the behaviour of the new system. The tests were conducted to mimic rear-end collisions with a delta-V of 16 km/h. A BioRID dummy was used as a human surrogate. The results indicate the beneficial influence of the damping seat slide on the occupant kinematics. In particular, the so-called S-shape deformation of the neck assessed by the neck injury criterion (NIC) is reduced. Comparing a standard car seat with and without the damping seat slide, it was shown that the NIC is reduced by approximately 40 per cent. Hence it was shown that besides the head restraint and the recliner that are used in other whiplash protection systems, the seat slide has the potential to prevent whiplash injury.

Language: en