Project Areas

Occupant Safety

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PROTECTION DURING A VEHICLE CRASH

Passenger cars, Bus and coaches, Commercial vehicles, Aircraft, Trains, etc.

Provided the occupant’s residual space is maintained during a crash, the occupant has the basic requirement to escape serious injury. This is achieved by avoiding any high energy impact between the occupant’s body segments and the interior of the residual space.

Additional safety benefits can be achieved through the use of Intelligent or Smart restraint systems to provide optimum levels of protection to each occupant by assessing their physical characteristics and tolerance limits (e.g. as developed in the BOSCOS project).

One of CIC's efforts in this direction concerns the design of Seat/Occupant Restraint Systems. In the case of energy absorbing aircraft seats for instance, during a crash, energy transfer to the occupant is reduced through the pre-determined controlled collapse stroke of the seat structure. Depending on the design constraints, the occupant restraint system may consist of a 2, 3, 5 or 6 point seat belt. CIC's activities concerning restraint systems cover assessment of the present practices and recommendations for improved standards. Our work on infant restraint in passenger aircraft is typical of such research.

Protective surfaces, air bags, foam coverings, etc., are designed to reduce induced loads on the occupant's body segments to below human tolerance. These include protection for head, chest, knees, etc. contact with the steering wheel or inner surfaces as well as body/restraints interaction. Typical of such activities is head protection during interior impact.