Crash Test Technology May09

OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF CRASH TEST EXPO 2009
MAY 2009
Side
impact
Why regulations havent gone far
enough to protect the public
Cranfield
Impact Centre
New simulation methodology
is bringing new possibilities to
Craneld Universitys crash work
Introducing
Flexible Pedestrian Legform Impactor
Global Technical Regulation
Flex-PLI Type GTR
The Flexible Pedestrian Legform Impactor
Co-development product by JARI/JAMA
Designed for assessment of pedestrian lower leg and knee injuries
Represents a 50th percentile male leg
Simulates the fexible nature of the human bone
With integrated DAS capability
FEA models available soon
For more information please contact your local representatives or visit us at www.ftss.com.
JUNE 2009 CRASH TEST TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL
FEATURES
2 CRASH TEST EXPO EUROPE 2009
Just a few highlights before the big event
in Stuttgart on June 16, 17 and 18
10 SUPPLIER FOCUS
Kistler is expanding rapidly due to some
judicious takeovers
20 CRANFIELD UNIVERSITY IMPACT
CENTRE, UK
Join Keith Read on a tour of this state-
of-the-art facility, one of the most respected
in the motorsport arena
CAMERAS
12 HIGH-SPEED CAMERAS IN F1
When action occurs too quickly for the human
eye to detect it, high-speed video cameras are
invaluable
14 CAMERA CONTROL MADE EASY
A new camera-control system makes high-
speed motion analysis with the option of
mixed cameras quicker and easier to set up
16 3D IMAGING ANALYSIS
High-speed imaging using high-resolution
enables better and easier 3D measurement
LIGHTING
18 SHARPER FOCUS
Portable high-intensity lights produce higher
light levels and enable cameras to run at
higher f-stops and faster shutter speeds
EQUIPMENT
26 PEDESTRIAN LEGFORM IMPACTOR
A legform impactor rst developed in 2000 has
been improved and made more sophisticated
to simulate the exibility of human bone
28 RUGGED CONNECTORS
A range of over 50,000 combinations of
precision push-pull connectors includes
rugged connectors
30 SENSOR SOLUTIONS
New materials and new tests have driven
the need for lightly damped accelerometers
SOFTWARE
32 COST-EFFECTIVE CAE SOLUTIONS
The increasing power of simulation has made
occupant safety analyses less time-consuming
and more cost-effective
34 SIGNAL AND IMAGE PROCESSING
The latest software aids signal and image
processing tasks for crash tests
36 FEA POST-PROCESSING
The development of Animator4 is enabling
its use in an increasing number of auto
engineering arenas
DIRECTORY
38 CRASH TEST PEOPLE
Whos who and what do they do? Find out the
people to be talking to in the wide world
of auto impact development
LEGENDS
40 W.R. RUSTY HAIGHT
Meet the human crash test dummy. Is there
nothing he wont do to further crash safety?
COVER STORY
4 Byron Bloch shares his wealth of
knowledge in the eld of side impact
tests, and uncovers the shortfalls in
current safety legislation and techniques
A car crash is always a traumatic event, but
of all the types of impact, the most dangerous
is the side impact. In front and rear impacts
there are usually a few feet of crumple zones
between the passenger and the collision, but
hit side on, only a few inches separate you
from the rapidly imploding doorframe.
According to the Insurance Institute of
Highway Safety in the US, from the early
1980s until 2000, driver death rates per
million cars registered decreased 47%,
mainly due to improvements in frontal crash
performance, in which driver death rates
decreased 52%. In contrast, the decrease
in side impacts was only 24%. But what can
be done, short of driving cube-shaped cars
so the occupants are surrounded by friendly
crumple-zones? Legislation has tried to
nd an answer but, as Byron Bloch argues
on page 4, it has not gone far enough. Bloch
is not a mere critic though, and has come up
with a few ideas that might help save lives.
They might even impress Rusty Haight,
a man who knows more than anyone else on
the planet about crashing, having survived
more than 900 rst-hand. This is no Jackass
stunt though, as Haight risks his well-being
in the name of science and safety, and has
become an expert known the world over.
Find out more about this living legend, one
of the crash worlds biggest characters, on
page 40. Just dont accept a ride from him!
Adam Gavine Editor
Testing notes
Editor
Adam Gavine
Deputy editor
Jon Lawson
Editorial assistant
Bunny Richards
Chief sub-editor
Alex Bradley
Sub-editor
William Baker
Production manager
Ian Donovan
Production team
Joanna Coles, Jack Fenner, Lewis Hopkins,
Charlotte Maynard, Carole Moyse, Emma Uwins
Art director
James Sutcliffe
Design team
Louise Adams, Andy Bass, Anna Davie,
Craig Marshall, Nicola Turner, Julie Welby,
Ben White
Proofreaders
Aubrey Jacobs-Tyson, Frank Millard
Contributors
Byron Bloch, Brian Cowan, Graham Heeps,
Jim McCraw, John Miles, Keith Read,
Dean Slavnich, Christine Velarde
CEO
Tony Robinson
Managing director
Graham Johnson
Sales and marketing director
Dominic Cundy
Publication manager
Jason Sullivan
Australasia sales
Chris Richardson (+61 4207 64110)
Circulation manager
Suzie Matthews
published by UKIP Media & Events Ltd
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This publication is protected by copyright 2009.
ISSN 1751-0341 Crash Test Technology
International
Printed by Nufeld Press, 21 Nufeld Way
Ashville Trading Estate, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 1RL
MAY 2009
Side
impact
Cranfield
Impact Centre
Craneld Universitys crash work
CONTENTS 1
2 CRASH TEST EXPO 2009
Crash Test Expo news
Crash Test Expo Europe 2009 will take place on June 16-18 in Stuttgart, Germany, showcasing the latest in crash
test technologies and services, alongside sister event Automotive Testing Expo Europe. Here are just a few highlights
CRASH TEST TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL JUNE 2009
The new CMOS high-speed
camera pco.dimax achieves a
high frame rate of 1,100 fps at a
resolution of 2,016 x 2,016 pixels.
If the area of interest is reduced
to 1,008 x 1,008 pixels, the frame
rate is increased to 4,000 fps,
and all this at 12-bit dynamics.
The custom-designed CMOS
image sensor with a diagonal
of 31.4mm has 11m pixels,
a quantum efciency larger
than 44%, and is available in
a monochrome and color version.
Corresponding to the pco.
camera family, the pco.dimax
has up to 36GB primary image
memory (camRAM) integrated
and various trigger operational
modes inbuilt to fulll the range
of needs and demands of the
automotive industry for crash
tests and component tests.
The image data can be either
transmitted via GigE Vision or
USB2.0 interface to the PC,
or can be displayed for fast
download or preview display
purposes, using a DVI or
a HDSDI interface.
The pco.dimax has intelligent
battery control so that the
battery can either supply the
camera for one hour full operation
or, in case of power failure, can
secure the data for more than
six hours. The global snapshot
shutter enables exposure times
from 2s to 1s.
Sales engineer
Christoph Brachner
will be on hand
on the PCO stand
High-speed camera
VISIT STAND NUMBER C3002
Dr Steffan Datentechnik GmbH
(DSD) from Linz, Austria will be
presenting its test system to
simulate a side crash, and so-
called intrusion cylinders.
Shorter development periods
necessitate new and more
efcient test methods. DSD has
developed a new test system
for side-crash simulation. With
a reproducible simulation it is
possible to get a quicker and
more economical development
of modules, components and
materials and not only for
side impact. Two versions are
available: ON-sled and OFF-sled.
The insertion of this test system
permits the imitation of the
deformation behavior of the door
and therefore an analysis of the
exact effects of the occupant
restraint systems on the dummy.
For the rst time it is possible,
independent of the door
deformation, to simulate the
movement of the vehicles body.
The system is assembled with
intrusion cylinders. An impactor is
accelerated to a test component
accelerations of 150g and a stroke
of 500mm are possible.
Side-impact simulation
Luminys Systems Corp is
introducing a new 30,000W linear
high-intensity light xture for
high-speed image capture. This
important part of the Lablight
system provides a very intense
beam, 30 vertical and 60
horizontal, to complement the
picture area of most high-speed
cameras. This high-power
green light is able to operate
on only 16 amps and 220V
power due to high-
capacity internal
batteries.
Typically this
unit idles at only
700W. When
triggered for high
intensity, it reaches
30,000W with full-
color quality in only
one millisecond. There
is 300,000LUX of light
spread over an area 1.2m
x 4.2 at 2m distance from the light
xture. This high-intensity level
can be maintained for 10 seconds.
Flicker-free picture stability up
to 100,000 frames per second
is assured by the DC plasma
generated inside the explosion-
proof negative pressure lamp.
Intense lighting
FalCon has been working
for over 25 years in crash-test
technology, and specializes
in high-speed camera software
and motion analysis.
During the processing of AVIs,
huge calculations take a lot of
time. In order to speed this up,
FalCon is providing a new tool
GPU-Speed in the new software
version eXtra 7. It uses the
parallel computer engines
in graphics processing units
(GPUs) to perform complex
image processing in a fraction
of the time required on a CPU.
AVI creation time can be
reduced by up to 77% of
conventional time
depending on the
performance on
the computer
and its number
of CPUs. This
speeding up helps
during marker
tracking and
motion analysis
in the FalCon
2D, 3D and 6D
analysis products.
High-speed video
For more details visit www.crashtest-expo.com
4 COVER STORY
If a vehicle is to be deemed reasonably
crashworthy, it must sufciently protect the
driver and passengers from severe or fatal
injury in collision accidents, including side
impacts with other vehicles and roadside
objects. And if crash testing is to be valid,
it must be relevant to what happens in real-
world accidents. Unfortunately, that hasnt
been the case with Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard 214 (FMVSS 214), as
established in the USA, and emulated
in other nations. This so-called safety
standard has fallen far short of ensuring
that complying vehicles offer sufcient
or optimal protection in side impacts.
In the USA, the National Trafc and
Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966 established
the Federal Vehicle Safety Agency. Its
mandate was to issue safety standards as
minimum requirements that vehicles must
comply with. The NHTSA was thereby
created and empowered to draw up a set
of rules the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standards (FMVSS) which must be fully
complied with before an auto maker can
sell its vehicles in the USA.
In the USA, compliance to those
minimum requirements does not absolve
auto makers from any potential legal liability
borne out of defective designs that dont
offer reasonable protection in actual collision
accidents. Therefore, the FMVSSs are not
an assurance that a vehicle is appropriately
crashworthy, and a vehicle could be judged
well below what is available and feasible as
an alternative, safer design.
On the
safe side
A US safety standard is said to fail to adequately test vehicles side-impact
protection. Byron Bloch looks at the principles that should be integrated
into vehicle design to improve crashworthiness in such impacts
The initial side-impact test requirement
in the early 1970s was a slow push laterally
by a cylindrical device into the middle
of the door, but there was no crash test
requirement as such. The previous static
test (slow push) was superseded by more
stringent loads applied to the doors to
measure the initial, intermediate, and peak
crush resistance (not less than 3.5 times the
vehicle curb weight or 12,000 lb, whichever
is less) required to deform the door inwardly
over the initial 6in, then 12in, then 18in.
NHTSA upgraded FMVSS 214 in 1990
by adding a new dynamic side-impact test
by a moving deformable barrier (MDB) at
33.5mph, but there was no measurement
of any impact forces to the test dummys
head. Nor did the moving barrier override
the target vehicles rocker section, as occurs
in many real-world accidents. The test
focused on thoracic and pelvic injuries in a
side-impact crash test by a crabbed (angled)
3,000 lb MDB, simulating a moving vehicle
being struck in the side at 90. The chest-
injury criterion was Thoracic Trauma Index
(TTI), based on measured acceleration data
from the ribs, spine, and pelvis of the test
dummy, and the TTI did not exceed 85g for
four-door cars, or 90g for two-door models.
In 1995, NHTSA issued a nal rule
amending FMVSS No. 201 Occupant
Strengthen the rocker sections
and the oor pan
High-strength steel, internal bafes, and
rigid-foam lling to increase compressive
and bending strength by a factor of at least
three to ve times, so that outboard rocker
sections are analogous to a strong full-
perimeter frame.
Lateral cross members for oor pan and roof
Tubular closed-section cross-members with
internal bafes and/or rigid-foam lling, to
help transfer loads from the impacted side
to other structural members across the
vehicle body.
Strengthened doors with perimeter overlap
Mid-level and high-level beams (to prevent
override), integrated fore-and-aft for a
continuous guardrail design, with the door
overlapping its surrounding perimeter and
B-pillar to prevent the door(s) from being
pushed inward.
Energy-absorbing foam padding
in the interior
Polyurethane or other semi-dense polymeric
foam to absorb impact energy and minimize
trauma to the occupants head and chest.
Side-window laminated glazing
Laminated side-window glass, rather than
tempered glass, will remain relatively intact
and serve as a support for side-curtain
airbags and as a life-net to prevent
occupant ejection.
Side-torso and side-curtain airbags
Inatable airbags to cushion and reduce impact
trauma to the occupants head and torso.
Stronger wraparound seats with
integral belt restraints
Wraparound contour of the backrest to help
stabilize and reduce lateral movement of the
occupant in side impacts, with integral
seatbelts that tighten with pre-tensioners.
Design improvements for increased passenger protection
COVER STORY 5
Protection in Interior Impact to
require passenger cars, trucks, buses and
multipurpose passenger vehicles with a gross
vehicle weight rating of 4,536kg (10,000
lb) or less to provide protection when
an occupants head strikes certain upper
interior components.
In 1998, NHTSA published a nal rule
amending Standard 201 to permit, but not
require, the installation of a dynamically
deploying upper-interior head-protection
system. Manufacturers choosing to install
a head-level airbag had to subject their
vehicles to a free-motion head-form test
at a speed of 12mph, and an 18mph
perpendicular vehicle-to-pole test.
Even with Standards 214 and 201 there
continue to be a large number of fatalities
occurring in side impacts resulting from
a variety of crash types and outcomes.
Fatalities occur when an occupant strikes a
tree or pole; when the striking vehicle has a
high front-end, such as a taller pickup, SUV,
or heavy truck; when the occupant is ejected
out of the side window; and when the crash
is of high speed or high severity, even when
the striking vehicle is a passenger car.
The death toll in side impacts in the
USA is now well over 9,000 per year for
passenger vehicles and LTVs (larger, heavier,
taller vehicles). The frequency of fatal
a narrow xed object, such as a telephone
pole or tree. The pole test will be conducted
using a 5th percentile female dummy seated
full-forward, or a 50th percentile male
dummy seated at the mid-track position of
the front outboard driver or passenger seats.
In many side-impact accidents, the
impacting vehicle may be larger, taller,
heavier, or structurally stiffer than the struck
vehicle. For example, a large SUV, pickup
or van weighing more than 5,000-6,000 lb
may impact into the side of a compact or
mid-sized automobile weighing 1,800-3,600
lb. In such a mismatched collision, the
larger vehicle will often override the struck
cars oor pan and rocker section, loading
directly into the mid-body or B-pillar.
Although the mid-body B-pillar may
pass the FMVSS 214 compliance test by
the 3,000 lb MDB that engages the rocker
section and oor pan, the B-pillar may be
structurally inadequate and vulnerable to
being ripped away at the point where its
attached to the rocker section and/or roof
side rail if impacted by a larger vehicle.
It is clear that the side-impact crash-test
protocol must include more realistic impacts
by a larger vehicle, or by a moving barrier
thats heavier and taller.
As GM Europe (Opel) stated in its 1993
publication, Vehicle Safety, Because test
Left: 2004 saw GM conduct its 15,000th crash
test at its proving grounds in Michigan, USA,
evaluating a Pontiac G6
Above and below: Similar work being carried
out in the crash test laboratories of Saab and
Volkswagen, respectively
The death toll in
side impacts in the
USA is now well over
9,000 per year for
passenger vehicles and
LTVs. The frequency
of fatal injuries is three
or four times more
likely if the striking
vehicle is an LTV
impacting into the side
of a passenger car
injuries is three or four times more likely
if the striking vehicle is an LTV impacting
into the side of a passenger car. This issue,
known as a mismatch, is not yet considered
within the FMVSS testing procedures.
The latest rule upgrade will modify
FMVSS 214 by requiring all passenger
vehicles to provide protection in a 20mph,
75, oblique vehicle-to-pole test by
simulating a collision sideways into
standards are often too theoretical, the
test program for Opel models focuses on
reality on real accidents on European
roads. From analyses of the most frequent
types of accidents, Opel has developed
test procedures that allow a more reliable
simulation of reality Typical accidents at
junctions, such as lateral impacts at an acute
angle with vehicles of various weight
classes also belong to the test program.
The text continues, Side collisions are
among the most dangerous car accidents.
While in frontal and rear-end collisions
the occupants can be well protected by
deformation elements placed outside the
occupant cell, there is no room for such
crush zones in the bodys sides.
Opel showed the various side-impact
crash tests it conducted, including moving-
barrier-into-car at various impact angles,
and car-to-car.
In the USA and Europe, the many sizes
of vehicles on the roads has prompted
greater concern for more stringent crash
testing. But in a nation where the populace
simply wants affordable basic cars, there
may be less demand for more stringent crash
testing. International harmonization may be
a desirable goal, but not if it settles for the
weakest performance requirement.
The Tata Nano, a small car made in India,
injuries (X-axis), shear injuries (Y-axis), and
compressive injuries (Z-axis), respectively.
The range of test dummies should
be more expansive, and include the 5th
percentile adult female, the 50th percentile
adult male, and the 99th percentile
adult male, as well as infant and child
dummies. It is insufcient to use only
50th percentile adult male test dummies.
Consideration should also be given to fragile
elderly passengers and larger or obese car
occupants, who may require adjustments to
the seats and seatbelt restraints beyond their
normal design range.
The pending upgrade for FMVSS 214
will be phased in gradually, beginning with
at least 20% of each manufacturers 2010
eet, expanding to 50% of the 2011 eet,
75% of the 2012 eet, and then all vehicles
manufactured after 1 September 2012.
The new FMVSS 214 upgrade includes
new performance requirements and test
procedures for head and thorax protection
systems in side crashes.
The rule requires a new 20mph, 75,
oblique pole test run in two different
congurations, one with a 50th percentile
male (ES-2re) dummy, and the other with
a 5th percentile female (SID-IIs Build D)
dummy. In addition to the oblique pole test,
the rule requires the MDB dynamic FMVSS
weighs approximately 600kg (1,320 lb) and
costs about US$2,500-3,000. Would the
Nano be able to pass a side-impact crash test
at 33.5mph by a 3,000 lb moving barrier
in order to comply with FMVSS 214? And
will side-curtain and side-torso airbags be
standard equipment, or available as options,
in India and export markets?
Another small car, the Smart, boasts
about its crashworthy design, given its
weight of about 730kg (1,609 lb), and its
cost of about US$12,000-17,000. Crash
forces are distributed by a strong Tridion
Safety Cell, much of which is high-strength
steel, with many interconnected tubular
elements, and further reinforced in highly
stressed areas. The rigid safety cell is
designed to maintain the occupants survival
space for protection in all crash situations.
The Smart car also includes two full-size
frontal airbags, and two side airbags for
head and thorax protection.
If crash testing is to have validity, it
must include measurements of the forces
experienced by the occupants relative to
injury causation. Yet a glaring weakness in
the FMVSS 214 testing protocol has been
the absence of any measurement of forces
to the test dummys head or neck. It is
imperative that the measured forces correlate
to hyper-exion and hyper-extension
6 COVER STORY
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214 side-impact test to be carried out with
the ES-2re in the front seat and the SID-IIs
Build D in the rear seat.
NHTSA states that side airbags for the
head and thorax will most likely be used
in order to pass the tests, with the addition
of door padding, improved armrest designs,
and larger side-curtain airbags that come
down to the window-sill area, giving
better protection to smaller occupants.
The estimated costs range from wide,
combination head/thorax side airbags
with two sensors, at US$126 per vehicle,
to separate wide window curtains, and
wide thorax side airbags with four sensors,
at a cost of US$280 per vehicle.
The ESV (Enhanced Safety of Vehicles)
conference showed the feasibility of safer
designs. Auto makers were asked to
design and test vehicles that could meet
a variety of crash-test and crashworthiness
requirements, including those for side-
impact protection. The tests included
a moving-pole side impact at 20mph,
and a car-to-car side impact at 32mph.
Many vehicles complied with the occupant
protection requirements for head, chest,
and pelvic injuries, and that was back
in the mid-1970s.
At the 1974 ESV Conference, Opel
incorporated ESV technology in a modied
version of its Kadett sedan. The article
noted, In side impacts car-to-car, as well
as side pole intrusion characteristics were
tailored to the interior survivability space.
To control the penetration of the passenger
compartment, we lled the door side bars
and rocker with polyurethane foam. Bending
tests with foam-lled elements showed that
the bending load capability for local pole-
type loading can be increased drastically.
Side-impact crash tests veried the
occupant protection capabilities of the Opel
ESV. GM noted that, The high location of
door beams ensured prevention of override
for the bullet-car in angular impacts; such
a design serves to improve fore-and-aft
strength in front and rear impacts.
GM showed how rigid foam could
dramatically improve vehicle structures. Its
engineers demonstrated how the simple and
economical use of rigid-foam lling within
sheet-metal tubular members could increase
their bending and compressive strength.
Rigid-foam strengthening technology was
feasible, lightweight, and inexpensive. Many
production vehicles have since adopted foam
lling to increase the stiffness and strength
of various body parts, greatly strengthening
the rocker sections, door beams, roof cross-
member, and other elements.
Left: The latest generation BMW 7 Series captured
just a moment before a side impact test
Above: A Mercedes-Benz C-Class at the moment
of impact. Note the minimal occupant cell intrusion
COVER STORY 7
Opel also showed how dual door-
beams were needed to prevent side-impact
intrusion. A safety-cage design is critical,
with integration of all the structural
elements so as to efciently distribute
forces in a collision, and thereby avoid
failures and ruptures at weak links.
Opels rationale is that crash tests allow
a near-authentic simulation of the most
common types of accidents. To quote
Opels vehicle safety literature, Because
test standards are often too theoretical, the
test program for Opel models focuses on
reality on real accidents on European
roads Typical accidents at junctions, such
as lateral impacts at an acute angle So
despite the promise of safer designs and
technology that was demonstrated as feasible
in the 1970s and 1980s, NHTSA and other
government vehicle safety agencies neglected
to advance the safety standards so that they
would require more stringent testing and
improve side-impact testing.
Some auto makers also relaxed their
corporate requirements, deciding to do only
the minimum, or just a bit more, than was
required by the NHTSA. The US FMVSS 214
standard was nally upgraded to include
a 33.5mph crash test by a deformable
barrier in the mid-1990s, and now
there is a new oblique car-into-pole
test at 20mph being phased in for 2009.
But these requirements are still far too
minimal to ensure optimal safety in
side-impact accidents.
Based on detailed evaluations of what
happens in real-world accidents, plus the
feasibility of well-tested technologies, an
overview of basic side-impact safety features
that should be integrated into a vehicles
design can be created, as shown on page 4.
The object is to minimize intrusion into the
passenger survival space, and to encourage
deection of one vehicle off another.
As more nations expand their vehicle
production programs, especially China
and India, the depletion of valuable
resource materials to manufacture tens of
millions of vehicles per year, plus their fuel
consumption requirements, suggests its time
for some revolutionary designs. If vehicle
weight and cost must be minimized, and
fuel efciency and recyclability must be
maximized, what happens to safety
and crashworthiness? Will less attention
to safety result in more deaths and injuries,
and is any nation willing to accept such
a trade-off? In other words, what happens
to compassion in car design?
When we look at the trafc mix in many
nations, there is an extraordinary variety of
vehicle sizes, shapes, and weights, so that
a mismatch collision might concern a large
SUV impacting into a small sedan. Should
this mismatch require that vehicle design
and side-impact crash testing accommodate
such collision accidents of larger, heavier
vehicles impacting into the sides of smaller,
lighter vehicles? And if so, to what extent?
Governmental safety standards are only
a minimum, and should not be relied upon
by auto makers or the motoring public as
assurances that vehicles are reasonably or
optimally safe in actual collision accidents.
Performing well in a laboratory test may
not predict safe performance in a real-world
collision. As has been demonstrated by
the ESV conferences since the early 1970s,
there are many feasible and economical
technologies that can greatly improve
crashworthiness.
It is up to the auto makers, the public,
and government agencies to encourage safer
vehicle design and performance, which will
in turn reduce or eliminate the number of
deaths and severe injuries in side-impact
accidents. If the automobile is to survive
as a mode of transportation, it must become
more efcient in its use of materials, fuel
and its effects on the environment, and
much safer in collision accidents and at
protecting passengers in those accidents.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Byron Bloch is a court-qualied auto safety expert
in the USA. For 40 years, he has evaluated collision-
accident vehicles and exemplar vehicles to assess
how and why occupants were severely injured or
killed. He has testied at US Congressional Hearings,
to NHTSA, and in court cases on vehicle safety
topics. His website is: www.autosafetyexpert.com
An instructive legal case is Rider versus
BMW, which arose out of an accident in
which a 1986 BMW 325 two-door sedan
impacted its right-front door into a roadside
utility pole. The resulting deep intrusion
into the BMWs survival space caused
fatal head injuries to the driver, who was
seated on the left-hand, or far side, of the
vehicle. His seatbelt proved ineffective in
preventing excessive movement of his
upper torso and head toward the right as
the pole simultaneously intruded leftward
deep into the vehicles interior.
The vehicle design issues included the
short subframe members that were too
far inboard to provide perimeter protection,
with a structural gap between the front and
rear subframe members; the absence of
structural cross-members at the oor pan
or roof levels; the inner-door beams that
were not integrated with continuous strong
side structure. In total, there was minimal
structural resistance to side impacts.
I testied in the trial as an expert in
automobile safety and crashworthiness,
and showed both the defective design at-
issue and the safer alternatives that were
both well-known and feasible, and which
would have prevented the fatal head injury.
The jury decided in favor of the plaintiff,
and BMW appealed. In 2008, the New
Jersey Appellate Court conrmed the
verdict. The court stated, Where the design
of a car is at issue, reasonably foreseeable
accidents are a reasonably foreseeable
use of the car, and reasonable, foreseeable
measures to protect the integrity of the
passenger compartment and the passenger
in such accidents are part of a safe design.
It is important to note that the defective
design analysis for the BMW at-issue would
also apply to many other vehicles that have
similar deciencies.
Other vehicles also have short, inboard
subframe members as a structural gap in
the mid-body area, weak rocker sections
without internal bafes, and a lack of
structural cross-members at the oor
pan and roof levels.
Yet, despite such structural
shortcomings, these vehicles would still
comply with the minimal requirements
of FMVSS 214, underscoring the fact that
compliance with an impressive-sounding
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard is
no assurance that the vehicle is reasonably,
let alone optimally, safe.
Case study
Side impact testing at the US81 million Volvo Safety
Center in Sweden. The deformation, coupled
with the deployed airbags, aids passenger safety
8 COVER STORY
The ulTimaTe moTion analysis Tool
Highest possible accuracy
www.imagesystems.se
tema covers the complete process from bringing the
image into the program via automated tracking and
analysis to a result presentation in predefned tables
and graphs. Measurements of deformations, airbag
volume, dummy head accelerations and steering
column penetration are just a few of many applica-
tion in the automotive industry.
So far, 2009 has been a big year
for Kistler, as the company has grown
dramatically following two major takeovers.
The rst, in January, saw the Kistler Group
take over MSC Automotive GmbH. MSC,
whose products and services complement
Kistlers existing range in its Business Unit
Vehicles, is being fully integrated into
the group.
MSC is a leading provider of systems for
crash dummy instrumentation, developing
and producing the associated force sensors
and accelerometers. A second eld of
activity carries out customized strain-gauge
applications and calibration of sensors and
measuring systems in-house, and also at
customer sites.
The potential of the existing business
activities of the Kistler Group, particularly in
crash/vehicle safety and services, is further
enhanced by the move. In future the MSC
products previously sold mainly on the
German market will also be distributed
internationally in more than 30 countries via
the wide sales network of the Kistler Group.
Rolf Sonderegger, CEO of the Kistler
Group, says that the acquisition of MSC
Automotive GmbH represents an important
step in the implementation of strategy
for realigning the Business Unit Vehicles.
Our customers increasingly want
comprehensive turnkey systems and the
opportunity to outsource services. The
expanded product portfolio enables us
to offer solutions from a single source.
The takeover also makes it clear that Kistler
wants to exploit current opportunities
to strengthen the longer-term position
of the group.
This takeover increased Kistlers
workforce to just under 950 and there
was more to come.
In April, the Kistler Group acquired
Corrsys-Datron Sensorsysteme GmbH
in order to enhance its range of measuring
systems for vehicle dynamic testing. The
optical technology of Corrsys is a further
asset to Kistler.
Corrsys-Datron Sensorsysteme is a
leading manufacturer of measuring systems
for vehicle dynamics testing, and its sensors
and data acquisition systems are used for
a variety of tests. Its main area of application
is longitudinal and transverse dynamics.
The non-contact sensors from Corrsys
are based on optical Correvit technology.
The acquisition of Corrsys complements
Kistler Groups technical portfolio to
strengthen its position as market leader
in dynamic over-the-road vehicle testing.
As Sonderegger says, The measuring
systems from Corrsys are often entry-level
products for initial drivability measurements.
Driving force
The Kistler Group is now bigger than ever, and is intent on cementing
its position as one of the worlds leading providers of dynamic
measuring instrumentation
The fact that its target customers are
potential subsequent purchasers of Kistler
measuring wheels broadens our portfolio
as a supplier of complete vehicle dynamic
testing solutions. The Corrsys takeover
increased Kistlers staff to around 1,000.
lll .
For more information, contact: Kistler;
tel: +41 52 224 1111; email: info@kistler.com;
web: www.kistler.com
Online Reader Enquiry Card number 500
Above: Corrsys-Datrons extensive range of measuring systems for vehicle dynamics testing enhances
Kistlers existing range of technology, while the addition of Corrsys optical technology is a bonus
Below: MSCs crash test expertise will now have a wider market, as will Corrsys dynamics equipment
10 SUPPLIER FOCUS
The Kistler Group has enhanced its product range
in the eld of acceleration and force instrumen-
tation for crash testing to provide essential test
data during crash testing. Besides our well known
and outstanding crash system turn-key solutions
we offer acceleration and force sensors for crash
dummy and vehicle instrumentation. Our corre-
sponding after sales services like re-calibration and
all kinds of maintenance for acceleration and force
sensors for quality assurance meets the most strin-
gent quality requirements.
Crash, Measure and Optimize
www.kistler.com
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Tel. +41 52 224 11 11, Fax +41 52 224 14 14, info@kistler.com
12 CAMERAS
Olympus i-SPEED high-speed video
cameras are used by many automotive
companies for a variety of applications,
ranging from recording full vehicle-impact
testing, to viewing the movement of
windshield wipers.
McLaren, an extremely successful
Formula 1 racing team and manufacturer
of luxury, high-performance road-going
cars, chose to purchase an i-SPEED 3
from Olympus to complement its existing
testing programs. The specication and
functionality of the camera was deemed
to be ideal for the broad spectrum of
applications required by Vodafone McLaren
Mercedes. A sensor resolution of 1,280 x
1,024 and capability to record at rates of
up to 150,000 frames per second, coupled
with high light sensitivity, the facility to
capture and synchronize external data
channels, and complete portability derived
from the innovative Controller Display Unit
and internal battery, all contributed to the
decision making process.
New composite materials are impact
tested by Vodafone McLaren Mercedes for
their structural rigidity and performance
characteristics under crash conditions.
A typical application is the on-sled crash
test of the nose cone. The i-SPEED camera
records the tests at 1,000fps and enables the
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes engineers to
study in great detail the collapse of the nose
cone. The cameras high resolution and true
Olympus image quality is key in these tests.
Various components on an F1 car are
stress tested to ensure they can withstand
the force loadings to which they are exposed
during race conditions. A prime example is
the restraining cable-tethers, which prevent
the wheels becoming detached from the
main structure in the event of an accident.
These cables must be able to withstand
the associated loads the i-SPEED camera
records the strain-testing gauge at high
frame rates to capture the failure point
and mode of the component. The data
collected from the strain gauge can also be
High-speed
cameras in F1
When action occurs too quickly for the human eye to detect it, high-speed video cameras are invaluable.
Powerful supporting PC software enables subsequent detailed analysis and reporting to be conducted
synchronized with the video data to provide
results for more detailed analysis.
Moving parts are always a key area for
analysis, and the gearbox is no exception.
Unwanted movement in the gearbox
mechanism can be analyzed with the
i-SPEED 3 to detect excessive wear on gear
teeth, or identify incorrect synchromeshing.
This area in particular is one where the
use of i-SPEED 3 in conjunction with
an Olympus rigid borescope or exible
berscope is advantageous using the
small diameter endoscope as a means
to access conned spaces for recording.
Testing at McLaren is not limited to
these few applications as its exacting
standards are carried through all aspects
of its vehicle design and development.
Using Olympus i-SPEED high-speed
video cameras, testing is also routinely
conducted in the following areas: analysis
of fuel-spray patterns; fuel ignition and
combustion; engine vibration; braking
systems; suspension studies (compression
and rebound characteristics); wind tunnel
testing; seats and seatbelt tests; pedestrian
safety; airbag analysis; testing the action
of catches and locks; glass windows; tires;
folding roof mechanisms; and light-bulb
production and testing.
In addition to high-speed video
cameras and rigid borescopes, the Olympus
portfolio of remote visual inspection and
non-destructive testing products includes
ultrasonic aw detectors, thickness
gauges, and IPLEX exible videoscopes.
An extensive range of microscopes is also
available, from simple upright systems
to very high-specication laser-scanning
confocal systems.
lll .
For more information, contact: Olympus Industrial;
tel: +44 1702 616333; web: www.olympus-ims.com
The i-SPEED 3 is helping to ensure
the safety of drivers at McLaren
Kistler The leading technology supplier for piezo-
electric crash measurement systems offers a large
variety of different standard and also customized
crash measurement testing solutions to provide
essential test data to optimize passenger respec-
tively passive safety in vehicles and to improve
the corresponding crash simulation programs. In-
strumentation of xed or movable crash barriers,
crash poles, RCAR crash bumpers, crash sledges
and drop towers are typical outstanding products
for your safety laboratory.
Crash Safety System Solutions
www.kistler.com
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Kistler Group, Eulachstrasse 22, 8408 Winterthur, Switzerland
Tel. +41 52 224 11 11, Fax +41 52 224 14 14, info@kistler.com
www.olympus-ims.com
HIGH SPEED VIDEO CAMERA
Stunning image quality at 1280 x 1024
Extreme low light sensitivity
Genuine multiple camera synchronisation
i-CHEQ, status monitoring
i-FOCUS, focus point confirmation
Luminance histogram for illumination set-up
PC independent with fast set-up and playback
Delivering high quality, high speed imaging with unrivalled
sensitivity in the most demanding of applications
Delivering high quality, high speed imaging with unrivalled
sensitivity in the most demanding of applications
Operators of high-speed cameras in sled
and barrier facilities spend a great deal of
their time on camera-related issues: camera
setup, image download, AVI creation, and
image archiving. These issues are both time-
consuming and costly. Users are also often
limited to the use of cameras of one brand,
and sometimes even cameras of only one
type. This can be problematic, as it limits
the ability to select the most suitable
cameras for different situations.
Image Systems has recently completed
a major update to its Enterprise Camera
Control System, which is now in use at Ford
Motor Company in Dearborn, Michigan.
Many of the requirements of the system
were specified by Ford, and by Grace &
Wild, which operates the system for Ford.
The essence of the system is that it
can take the camera-view requirements for
40 or more cameras from a test-planning
database and pass these requirements in
terms of frame rate, exposure, and record
time into the camera-control software. It
also passes through the post-test distribution
requirements in terms of format and
location. In this manner, an engineers
requirements can be passed directly to
the cameras in the most efficient, and
error-free, manner.
The test operator can then view any,
or all camera views, and also the real-time
status of all cameras, at the test command-
post computer. When he is satisfied that
sufficient cameras are online and their views
Camera control
made easy
High-speed motion analysis, with the option of high-speed cameras from different
manufacturers, is easier and quicker to set up, due to a new version of a camera-control
system now in use at Ford in Michigan
are acceptable, he can initiate the test. If
a camera drops out for any reason prior to
test initiation, the operator is immediately
notified and can take appropriate action
to stop the test if necessary.
A hardware trigger then initiates
recording. As soon as the imaging is
complete, a raw image is saved locally
for safety, and then all the necessary files
are distributed to a rendering computer.
Distribution to many different locations
follows, enabling immediate use by the
test engineers.
This is all controlled from one GUI
interface at the test command post by one
operator using the TEMA Enterprise Camera
Control System, which is, in turn, fed from
the test-planning database, and distributes
to a rendering computer. The only thing the
operator does is enter the test identification.
Then TEMA searches the test planning
system for all relevant information and any
metadata for the test. In this way, the speed
is greatly increased, especially when doing
multiple tests in larger facilities.
Typically 20 stationary and onboard
cameras can be downloaded extremely
quickly, enabling immediate tear down and
preparation for the next test. Hand-held
camera snapshots and videos can be added
to the final download, and there is also
a watermarking facility so that AVIs can
be created during the initial download.
These have a watermark tying the recording
to a definitive time for legal purposes.
The key advantages that have accrued
from the installations of this system are:
error-free implementation of a test engineers
requirements; virtually no time restraints
on the test program because of the camera
setup; the ability to avoid a test initiation
where a last-minute camera failure would
compromise the results; immediate
availability of test images on whatever
formats and in the locations the end users
need; traceability of records to the actual test
for legal purposes; and the potential to add
new types of cameras in the future, without
having to change camera-control software.
Assuming no camera maintenance is
required, the operator requires only a few
minutes to check the setup, pretest, and to
ensure all the required views are functional.
Post-test, all that is needed is a quick check
to verify that downloading is complete.
TEMA Camera Control can be fully
integrated with TEMA Automotive or TEMA
Motion for tracking and motion analysis.
Tracking and analysis can be done directly
after downloading an image sequence from
a camera, minimizing the total analysis time.
Using TEMA Camera Control, high-speed
motion analysis has never been easier. It is
easy and quick to set up, and more reliable
than ever before. It gives any customer,
worldwide, the opportunity to go out and
select the top high-speed cameras from
different manufacturers, and set up the
perfect arena for testing according to their
specific needs.
lll .
For more information, contact: Image Systems;
tel: +46 13 200 100; email: info@imagesystems.se;
web: www.imagesystems.se
Screenshot of the arming and triggering status
of several different online high-speed cameras
14 CAMERAS
The system can take the view requirements of 40+
cameras and pass them to the control software
M SERIES
RATCHET
CONNECTORS
A ratchet screw system
enable quick and secure
coupling of the connectors.
An innovative solution
for harsh-environment
Very high contact density
Ratchet screw coupling
mechanism
6 different sizes
Lightweight aluminium shell
2 to 114 contacts
Optimum space saving
Oil and fuel resistant
IP 68
High shock and
vibration resistance
Vibration absorbtion flange
Contact your local partner on www.lemo.com
LEMO SA - Switzerland
Phone: (+41 21) 695 16 00
Fax: (+41 21) 695 16 02
info@lemo.com
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16 CAMERAS
Film productions for TV and cinema in
full HD with 1920 x 1080 pixels enhance
the need for high-speed cameras with
4MP sensors. The demand of the more
consumer-oriented market is possibly
the most important motivation for this
innovation, leading to new possibilities for
optical 3D measurement. The upcoming
new generation of high-speed cameras
directly achieves an enhancement of the
measuring accuracy. This is because the
point measurement accuracy depends on the
resolution of the camera system the higher
the resolution, the greater the accuracy. The
photogrammetric calibration process is well
understood and established, therefore no
problems regarding the calibration of the
optical system have to be solved.
The increase in geometrical resolution
leads to an impressive increase in image
quality, which is depicted in Figure 1.
Starting from the left the resolution was
divided in halves and shows the difference
between the current high-end cameras
with 2016 x 2016 pixels to standard
1.3MP sensors and at least VGA resolution
(640 x 480 pixels).
The 3D-Camsplitter is an easy-to-use
way to apply a high-speed camera for 3D
measurements. Key benefits of the 3D-
Camsplitter are mobility, handling, and
cost-efficiency. Four mirrors split the path of
rays directly in front of the lens, so that one
camera can be used to capture stereo images.
There is no need for synchronization. The
resolution of the camera is divided in halves.
A photogrammetric calibration of the whole
system (3D-Camsplitter, lens, and sensor)
results in accuracy better than 0.1mm with
the CMOS pco.dimax high-speed camera.
Equipped with the 3D-Camsplitter
(Figure 3) the pco.dimax enables the
recording of stereo image pairs for 3D
measurements with up to 1,100fps
with two 2016 x 1008 pixel images,
for a 2016 x 2016 pixel sensor.
The camera achieves a frame rate of
1,100fps at a resolution of 2016 x 2016
pixels. If the area of interest is reduced
to 1008 x 1008 pixels, the frame rate is
increased to 4,000fps, and all this at 12bit
dynamics. The custom-designed CMOS
3D imaging
analysis
High-speed imaging using high-resolution enables better and easier 3D measurement
image sensor with a diagonal of 31.4mm
has 11m pixels, a quantum efficiency larger
than 44%, and is available in monochrome
and color versions. The pco.dimax has up
to 36GB primary image memory (camRAM)
integrated and various trigger operational
modes built in to fulfill the needs of the
automotive and aerospace industries for
crash tests and component tests.
The image data could be transmitted
via GigE Vision or USB2.0 interface to the
PC, or it can be displayed for fast download
or preview display purposes using a DVI
or an HD-SDI interface. The pco.dimax
has an intelligent battery control so that
the battery can supply the camera for one
hours full operation, or in case of power
failure, can secure the data for more than six
hours. The global snapshot shutter enables
exposure times from 2s to one second. The
double shutter operational mode is suited
to high-resolution and high-speed PIV
applications. A high-precision inter-camera
synchronization enables the synchronous
operation of multicamera system
applications for dynamic 3D analysis.
lll .
For more information, contact: PCO; tel: +49 9441
2005 0; email: info@pco.de; web: www.pco.de
SOLVing3D GmbH; tel: +49 5131 907972-0; email:
bernd-m.wolf@solving3d.de; web: www.solving3d.de
Figure 1: The resolution of the image was divided in halves from left to right. Only
a detail of the image is depicted (the car is a Volkswagen Golf VI 1.4 Trendline,
EuroNCAP, ve stars. Image courtesy of Euro NCAP www.euroncap.com)
Figure 3: 3D-Camsplitter
mounted to a pco.dimax
high-speed camera
Figure 2: The principle of splitting the path of rays
to use one camera as a stereo measurement system.
A stereo image pair results from the arrangement
of mirrors with a high-speed camera
S O F T W A R E T O O L S F O R T E S T A N A L Y S I S
TRACKIMAGE
MOTION ANALYSIS
TRACKREPORT
TEST ANALYSIS & REPORT GENERATION
Contact: ORME, Rue Pierre Gilles de Gennes, BP 58140, 31 681 LABEGE CEDEX, France - Tel: +33 5 61 00 25 70, Fax: +33 5 61 00 26 80 info@orme-toulouse.com, www.orme-toulouse.com
2D & 3D MOTION TRACKING
DEFORMATION TRACKING
AIR-BAG DEPLOYMENT
FLUID DYNAMICS
ROTATING MACHINES
ASAM Compliant
TEST POST-PROCESSING
ALGORITHM DEVELOPMENT
REPORT GENERATION
CRASH-TEST LIBRARY
ORME
18 LIGHTING
Most crash-test facilities still have
inadequate lighting systems, typically large
awkward arrays of numerous low-power
xtures. The resulting low light levels, glare
and hotspots compromise image quality,
leaving the facility with less, and lower
quality, data in the testing process. Most
photographers would prefer a lighting
system that achieves better photographic
results, but replacement of the system
can be cost-prohibitive especially
in the current economic climate.
Faced with the challenge of improving
the lighting setup short of a costly and
time-consuming construction project,
some facilities explore simply increasing
the number of low-power light xtures
in their existing array. Aside from space
constraints, this approach adds to what
is already burdensome power consumption,
increasing operating cost signicantly.
The evolution of high-speed lighting
technology, means facilities now have
another option. Standalone xtures are
now available that each provide from
15,000-150,000W of high-quality light
powered by a built-in battery supply.
Adding just two of these xtures at an
optimized position in an existing lighting
array can boost light levels in a manner
that is cost-effective both in terms of
acquisition and operating cost and
poses no disruption to workow. The
built-in battery power means that little
additional house power is required to
achieve this improvement.
In a typical barrier facility, just two
additional high intensity lights from
Luminys can add as much as 200,000LUX
over the area of a full-size vehicle. Higher
light levels allow cameras to be run at higher
f-stops and faster shutter speeds, producing
sharper focus and more detail.
Alternatively, where light levels need
a smaller boost, two 30K LabLight units can
increase light levels by up to 70,000 lux.
Luminyss supplemental lighting xtures
are portable, so they can be repositioned
Sharper focus
Additional portable high-intensity lights produce higher light levels and allow cameras to
be run at higher f-stops and faster shutter speeds, producing sharper focus and more detail
quickly to provide optimal lighting for
specic testing events, or even shared among
multiple test areas. This new solution makes
better lighting performance for a facility
achievable when starting over isnt feasible.
lll .
For more information, contact: Luminys;
tel: +1 323 461 6361; email: info@luminyscorp.com;
web: www.luminyscorp.com
Top: where light levels need a smaller boost, two 30K LabLight units can
increase light levels by up to 70,000LUX
Above: In a typical barrier facility, just two additional high intensity lights from
Luminys can add as much as 200,000LUX over the area of a full-size vehicle
www.testing-expousa.com
CRASH TEST EXPO NORTH AMERICA 2009,
UKIP Media & Events,
Abinger House, Church Street,
Dorking, Surrey RH4 1DF, United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0) 1306 743744
Fax: +44 (0) 1306 877411
email: expo@ukintpress.com
October 27, 28 and 29, 2009
THE ROCK FINANCIAL SHOWPLACE IN NOVI, DETROIT, MI, USA
NORTH AMERICAS ONLY DEDICATED CRASH TEST
EXHIBITION AND OPEN TECHNOLOGY FORUM
Give us
300 milliseconds
and we'll show you
the light.

Luminys Systems Corp
6601 Santa Monica Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90038
T 1 323 461 6361
Illuminating Ideas in High Intensity Lighting.`
www.luminyscorp.com
High speed imagery is about critical data
captured at the blink of an eye.
Superior results areonly as good as the
light shining on the subject.
INTRODUCING
1,000,000 watts of on-demand,
indirect light oering unparalleled
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lighting solutions for your testing environment.
Guarantee maximum results from your high speed
imagery each and every time.
20 SITE VISIT
Scatter
studies
Keith Read visits the Impact Centre at Craneld University,
and learns about a new crash simulation methodology
SITE VISIT 21
A Ferrari F430 undergoing quasi-static testing at the
Craneld Impact Centre in order to create model data
Stochastics is a science that is destined
to become very important in the world of
virtual crash testing. One of the leaders of
the technology dened as the study of the
scatter of a real-world event is Craneld
Universitys Impact Centre (CIC), located
in the heart of the UK, halfway between
London and Birmingham.
Much of our simulation uses stochastic
simulations, says Jim Watson, senior project
engineer at CIC. In the physical world
you would do perhaps one test, but in
simulation, you would carry out perhaps
100 analyses to look at a whole cloud of data
results where youd changed various aspects.
Such a change could be something like the
friction coefcient in the model, and this
might give a more comprehensive solution.
Temperature can often affect results,
but the legislative [physical] test doesnt
take that into account, continues Watson.
However, when youre operating in the real
world, outside of the testing environment,
a vehicle has to perform well in any
conditions. This is where simulation can be
cost-effective and save time, offering results
that consider a number of variables. This is
the area of virtual testing that were trying
to develop further.
The simulation technique is being used
for a number of European projects in which
Craneld is involved, such as the EU FP6
project APROSYS (Advanced Protection
Systems). Other projects embracing
stochastics range from pedestrian and
cyclist protection, to coach rollovers
and accident investigation.
Stochastics is fairly new, and not many
people are working in this area, certainly
not in the UK, says Watson, who believes
an added benet of carrying out a stochastic
scatter study can be the elimination of test
failures from the outset.
OEMs, component suppliers and race
teams dont want to come here to do a crash
test that all their computer models have
told them will be a pass, but it fails because
a variable is unaccounted for. This would
mean going back to the drawing board
to make sure the component passed.
But if they come here having got the full
cloud [of stochastic scatter] as a result
of undertaking a number of cost-effective
simulations, the crash test becomes the
rubber stamp or validation.
Kirsty Montgomery, business
development manager for the CIC, predicts
that stochastics will go a step beyond
legislation: Legislation says, These are the
criteria to which you physically crash-test.
Stochastics says, What if thats not the exact
scenario that occurs in the real world?
Its just furthering the understanding
of all the possibilities, she continues. All
legislators have to draw a line in the sand
somewhere. With stochastics, were able
to have a bit of a look around that line.
Some of Cranelds simulation work
is carried out for motorsport customers,
though not extensively, because Formula 1
teams have their own capability, and many
competitors in formulae at the other end of
the spectrum are used to more conventional
physical testing.
Bikes and bones
Main image and above: The 28m-long impact sled
from Seattle Safety is powered by compressed air,
with crash pulses dened by a series of arrester
wires arranged to known patterns. The Rosand
drop tower, known as Rosie, can be seen in
the background of the main picture
22 SITE VISIT
Jim Watson has been at Craneld for
13 years, joining straight from Stafford
University, where he did his BEng degree.
A keen cyclist, research he is currently
undertaking for his PhD could well ensure
that cyclists who are in collision with cars
stand a better chance of survival. His work
has shown that, although current and future-
envisaged pedestrian impact protection
systems on vehicles offer some benet to
cyclists, their position in relation to the
vehicle at the point of impact means their
heads are prone to striking the windshield,
rather than the hood. This is a problem as
the hood is required by legislation to
mitigate pedestrian injuries in the event of
impact, while windshields and A-pillars are
deliberately designed to protect vehicle
occupants from projectile intrusion.
Consequently, when a cyclists head
impacts the glass, injuries can be serious
and often fatal.
Kirsty Montgomery, who joined Craneld
two years ago after spending six years as
commercial manager at motorsport
transmission technology company Xtrac,
believes that future research and simulation
will have to look well beyond the 50th
percentile that is currently the typical
victim in crash tests. This will be necessary
in order to cover a greater percentage of
demographic groups.
More and more women go out to work
and are working longer before they retire,
she says. As a result, more elderly females
are commuting to work in cars. Women in
this age range can be susceptible to
osteoporosis, which gives them bones that
are more brittle, so we need to start looking
at what happens to them in impacts.
Unlike the vast, cavern-like multimillion-
dollar crash-test halls proudly shown
off by vehicle manufacturers, Cranelds
impact center, managed by Robin Butler,
is compact, partly outdoors, and is
crammed with test rigs designed to
look beyond the crash-bang-wallop
of whole-vehicle validation tests.
Materials, and how they affect vehicle
and component safety come under the
microscope at Craneld, with its split
Hopkinson bar designed to test
materials under compression, tension
and torsion in frequent use. Close by is
a quasi-static roll hoop test and crush rig
used not only for motorsport monocoque
roll-hoop tests, but also a number of tests
for non-motorsport customers.
A seat-test rig for testing competition
seats in side impacts is another rig in
constant demand, and the CICs T-bed
and three-axis moment of inertia rig
is used to measure mass, center of
gravity, and principal inertias and their
direction cosines. Its capability ranges
from 1-2,500kg, and it can physically
contain a full-size race or road car.
Dynamic impact tests are undertaken
on a Seattle Safety sled. The 28m-long rig
is powered by compressed air, with crash
pulses dened by a series of arrester
wires arranged to known patterns. The
sled can handle test pieces with mass
from 560-2,000kg at a maximum velocity
of 20m/s. It is surrounded by gantries
of ARRI lighting and Photo-Sonic high-
speed cameras that lm at up to 2,000fps.
A Rosand drop tower, affectionately
known throughout Craneld as Rosie,
plays a key role in testing of materials
and components within the laboratory,
and the rollover test rig is located outside.
Craneld has the capability to dene,
design, and build new and specic test
rigs. In conjunction with the FIA Institute,
it is currently developing a rig to test rally
seats for occupant protection at three
key points: hip, shoulder and head.
The laboratory
The seat-test rig for testing competition seats in
side impacts has proved very popular
SITE VISIT 23
I believe were at the cusp of change,
says Montgomery. Although computer
simulation is not particularly new, people
have to make decisions about which
approach they feel is the most cost-
effective, and thats something that only
the companies themselves can decide. We
are engaged with different industries, to
different degrees, in both virtual testing
and physical testing.
There will always be physical testing,
if for no other reason than just to check
simulation results. There is usually a
legislative requirement for a physical test,
although, in the coach industry where we
work with the VCA we use virtual testing
to provide approvals for coaches. We no
longer have to do rollover tests, although
we do have to do some dynamic, or quasi-
static, testing of elements such as beams,
roll hoops, or other structures in order to
provide data to feed back into the model.
Craneld works with a variety of
European and UK coach makers to ensure
their vehicles meet the R66-0.1 legislation.
It was the rst organization to be permitted
by the VCA to use virtual testing as a means
of determining pass or fail.
Throughout its history, the CIC has
been involved with rollover tests. Earlier
this year it worked with UK-based Roush
Technologies to prove the integrity of the
companys computer-designed rollover
protection for military personnel. The
system allows 14 soldiers, secured by
harnesses, to sit safely back-to-back along
the centerline of the cargo area of a at-bed
truck. In the event of a rollover, they are
protected by a strong safety cage.
Craneld is the only center in the
UK that has one of these rigs for this
rollover test, states Watson.
Roush part of the USAs Roush
Industries until last year, when it
was acquired by an investor group
subsequently secured the rst order (worth
in the region of US$10 million) for its
Craneld-tested rollover protection system.
One of the most unusual impact tests
that CIC has been asked to undertake was
for a company developing airbags for use in
the construction industry to protect building
workers who fall from high scaffolding.
Having simulated the effectiveness of the
design, the customer wanted Craneld to
undertake a physical test.
The customer created a replica building
for us, complete with an inated airbag, so
that we could physically test its viability,
explains Watson. It passed, showing that
workers could be protected if they fell.
Motorsport matters
24 SITE VISIT
Two of the worlds four FIA-approved test
centers are in the UK, and one Craneld
University attracts more than half the
current F1 grid to its Impact Centre (CIC).
F1 teams do not tend to use Craneld for
simulation, but choose it for physical testing.
Bearing in mind the long association the
University has had with automotive testing
particularly crash and safety testing and
with the FIA, this is not surprising. It was the
increasing requirements of the motorsport
sector more than a quarter of a century ago
that was key to the CICs establishment.
Kirsty Montgomery, business development
manager for CIC, says that motorsport was
one of the main drivers for the automotive
impact center around the start of the 1980s.
Craneld researches
the type of tests needed to prove vehicle
integrity, and it helps legislators EU and FIA
to formulate tests that subsequently
become mandatory, she states.
To get the CIC off the ground, Craneld
built its own sled test facility 28 years ago.
This was replaced two years ago when
a new US$5 million extension to its
laboratories was opened by Sir Jackie
Stewart. The extension incorporates a new
impact sled from US-based Seattle Safety.
When Sir Jackie opened the new facility,
Williams provided an F1 monocoque for
a demonstration impact test. The tub passed
all the FIA requirements with ying colors.
There was also a quantity of ying carbon
ber dust and particles which was effectively
removed by the newly incorporated
extraction system over the impact block.
Among the motorsport customers using
CIC are teams from F3, LMP and Indy Cars.
A number of World Rally Championship
manufacturers have also used Cranelds
simulation and virtual testing capabilities.
Motorsport is interesting because of the
nature of the materials they are using and
the fact that the boundaries are changing,
says Montgomery. We also work closely
with the FIA on looking at new regulations.
A year ago, the CIC sled-tested a KERS
module produced by Flybrid Systems, to
demonstrate that a spinning ywheel can
survive the severity of an F1 frontal impact
test. The ywheel was spun up to its
64,500rpm top speed before the drive
portion of the spin test rig was disconnected
and the complete test chamber catapulted
into the barrier. Inside the chamber was a
light-alloy housing typical of an F1 car, within
which was mounted the 400kJ ywheel.
The test involved a peak deceleration
level of more than 20g. The exact level
is condential because the prole of the
deceleration was matched to actual crash-
test data from a clients F1 car. But after the
test, the ywheel was still spinning at high
speed and was completely undamaged.
Around 60% of CICs testing is for
motorsport, but the amount of virtual testing
demanded by non-motorsport customers
is much higher than that of race teams.
Sled testing a KERS module from Flybrid Systems.
The module was spun up to its maximum speed of
64,500rpm and catapulted into a barrier
F1 safety pioneer Sir Jackie Stewart pictured
with a Williams tub at the Craneld Impact Centre
in 2006
2, 3, 4, February 2010
AUTOMOTIVE TESTING EXPO INDIA 2010, Abinger House, Church Street, Dorking, Surrey RH4 1DF, UK
Tel: +44 (0) 1306 743744 Fax: +44 (0) 1306 877411 email: expo@ukintpress.com
www.testing-expo.com
Hitex Exhibition Centre in Hyderabad, India
Indias ONLY Automotive Testing, Evaluation
and Quality Engineering Trade Fair
26 CRASH TEST EQUIPMENT
In 2000, the Japan Automobile
Manufacturers Association Inc (JAMA)
together with the Japan Automobile
Research Institute (JARI) initiated the
development of a pedestrian legform
impactor to assess lower leg injury on
pedestrians in car accidents. The legform
at that time used rigid long bones, so
to improve biofidelity a flexible-bone
arrangement was considered.
In 2002, an initial design of Flex-PLI
was made available, followed by the Flex-
GT version in 2006. In September 2005, a
Pedestrian
legform impactor
A legform impactor rst developed in Japan in 2000 to assess lower-leg injury on
pedestrians in car accidents at 40km/h has now been improved and made more
sophisticated to simulate the exibility of human bone
Technical Evaluation Group (Flex TEG) was
founded under the UN/ECE/WP29/GRSP/
informal group consisting of government
and industrial parties to evaluate the legform
as a regulatory purpose test tool for global
technical regulation on pedestrian safety
(PS-GTR). First Technology Safety Systems
(FTSS) is part of this group as the dummy
manufacturer with the brief to review the
GT design, and manufacture the legform.
The review started in August 2007 and
highlighted a number of improvements; the
proposed Flex-PLI-GTR design was accepted
in April 2008. The performance of the
legform was to be unchanged to maintain
biofidelity and to ensure existing test data
remained valid. Therefore, the existing
overall design, size, mass, and materials
were maintained as much as possible.
The Flex-PLI-GTR legform represents
a 50
th
percentile male leg designed for right-
side impact testing. It simulates the flexible
nature of the human bone and can assess
pedestrian lower-leg and knee injuries.
During a test, it is fired from a linear
guided launcher onto the bumper of
a static vehicle at a velocity of 40km/h.
The key improvements made in the
Clockwise from top right:
Flex PLI GTR esh system,
outer cover removed;
Typical impact with car
bumper showing leg
exibility; CAD picture
of leg assembly
without esh
new version were: centralizing the knee
ligament deflection sensors to avoid impact
direction sensitivity on curved car bumpers;
balancing the cruciate ligament spring force
in the knee joint to prevent a twisting action
between the two knee components; and the
introduction of a full bridge configuration
to the multiple strain gauges in the leg bones.
This increased the voltage output by
using both the tensile and compressive
strains of the bone and made the gauges
insensitive to elongation and temperature.
In addition, handling was enhanced.
Flex-PLI-GTR also has the capability
of an onboard Data Acquisition System
(DAS). By using an onboard DAS, the
use of umbilical wires is eliminated, thus
improving free-flight stability. It also helps
to prevent wire damage that could cause
data loss during a test.
FTSS also reviewed and updated the
numerous quasi-static calibration procedures
for internal bones, thigh, knee, and lower
leg assemblies. The dynamic calibration rig
was also updated to provide more realistic
loading and to improve reproducibility.
The standard leg instrumentation
has 12 channels; this includes three full
CRASH TEST EQUIPMENT 27
bridge strain gauges in the thigh and
four in the lower leg, all measuring bone
bending moments at spaced intervals
along the bones. In the knee are four
string potentiometers measuring ligament
elongation. An accelerometer is placed in the
lower knee to measure acceleration in the
impact direction. Additional accelerometers
and angular-rate velocity sensors can be
added to the leg but are recommended for
research only.
The leg bones consist of a segmented
assembly mainly made from a high-strength
plastic with a fiber-reinforced inner bone.
Strain gauges are bonded to the bones,
and each gauge-channel set is calibrated
individually to establish gauge sensitivity.
Stainless-steel wires limit bone bending at
the injury threshold to prevent bones being
overstressed. Links are used to connect the
segments to maintain an even spacing, and
rubber buffers are used to prevent segment
contact. Each leg sub-assembly is certified
to biomechanical corridors.
The knee consists of two sections: upper
and lower. The knee joint is made flexible
by using springs and wires to simulate
ligaments. The springs are designed to
meet the required ligament force and
range of motion, and the knee is certified
to biomechanical corridors. Onboard
DAS is housed at either side of the knee
upper section (six channels each side) and
connector blocks are fitted in the lower knee
to enable switching from onboard
to offboard DAS. Side covers are used
to protect the wiring and electronics.
The flesh comprises a combination
of rubber and Neoprene foam sheets.
The bulk of the rubber is in the thigh
to provide a humanlike flesh response
and mass distribution.
Three Flex-PLI-GTR prototypes were
manufactured and delivered to JARI in
November 2008. One unit was equipped
with offboard DAS, one with onboard
Messring M=BUS DAS, and the third
with onboard DTS SLICE DAS.
The M=BUS is an independent six-
channel logger measuring 40 x 25 x 14mm.
The units can be daisy-chained together
via a single small coax cable ending in
a terminator that checks system integrity
and quality. Two units are required on the
Flex-PLI-GTR for standard instrumentation,
and are packaged at either side of the upper
knee. Each logger is equipped with its own
battery, providing 17 seconds of record time.
The knee joint is made exible by using springs
and wires to simulate ligaments. The springs are
designed to meet the required ligament force
and range of motion
The system has a low-friction disconnect
on firing; and on reconnection, after the test,
data can be downloaded to a PC equipped
with Messrings Crash Soft 3 software
for analysis. Time synchronization of all
channels is guaranteed over an integrated
master- and slave-clock concept.
The DTS SLICE Nano data recorder
is a modular system, where units are
stacked together to provide the required
number of channels. The Base SLICE (31
x 26 x 6.5mm) contains the processor and
memory and the Bridge SLICEs (31 x 26
x 5.5mm) are stacked on top, providing
channel functionality. Ten Bridge SLICEs
can be connected to one Base SLICE,
providing 30 channels.
Due to the limited space on the Flex-
PLI-GTR, two Base SLICEs were required;
each stacked with two Bridge SLICEs
handling six channels. For the prototype
two supercapacitors were used to power
the system after disconnect to enable quick
recharge. For future builds, a battery will
be provided. The system is reconnected
after firing and the test data is downloaded
to the DTS software.
The initial results from the prototypes
will be published at the Enhanced Safety
of Vehicles (ESV) conference in Stuttgart
in June (www.esv2009.com).
lll .
For more information, contact: First Technology
Safety Systems Inc; tel: +1 734 451 7878;
email: fe.info.us@ftss.com; web: www.ftss.com
Above: Flex PLI GTR dynamic test xture
Top right: Messring M=BUS DAS installation
Right: View looking down on upper knee showing DTS SLICE
installation and battery position in centre recess.
Lemo is an acknowledged leader in
the design and manufacture of precision
custom-connection solutions. Lemo has
been manufacturing precision push-pull
connectors for six decades.
The companys high-quality push-
pull connectors are found in a variety of
application environments, including medical,
industrial control, test and measurement,
audio-video and telecommunications.
A range of rugged connectors used in
crash-test dummies, transducers or data-
acquisition units is on offer. The connectors
can also be found on airbag-deployment
systems, small size accelerometers, lighting
systems and high-speed cameras. The
companys connectors can also be used for
electronic development, crash-test setups,
ECU calibration and test, and in battery-
status diagnosis.
In addition to the Lemo B and K series
connectors, a new product, the M series, is
being introduced this year for motorsport
and military applications. Made of high-
strength aluminum, this is one of the lightest
and most compact Lemo connectors.
A ratchet-screw mechanism enables
quick and secure coupling of the connectors.
The mechanism makes it easier to tighten
the plug in the socket than to untighten,
ensuring, therefore, a rm connection.
The connector is available with two shell
designs arctic grip or knurled outer shell.
The arctic-grip makes it easy to manipulate
the connector when wearing gloves, or when
the connector is in a difcult-to-access area.
The connector is environmentally sealed
with ingress protection to IP68. A sealing
gasket made of uororubber (Viton) ensures
resistance against hydrocarbons. The series
is produced in various sizes (nominal
diameter 13-34mm) and offers high-density
pin count with up to 114 contacts.
All the M series connectors are identied
with a laser-engraved part number and
a production batch number. This allows
Lemo to achieve complete traceability of the
product manufacturing from raw material to
nished shipped goods.
The M series connector also offers an
optional backend for over-molding onto
a cable. Once the connector, cable and
contacts are assembled, the connector
can be placed into a mold for injection
molding. The over-mold provides strain and
ex relief, improving the reliability of the
product, even in regular and repeated use.
The Lemo Group is represented by
Rugged
connectors
A range of over 50,000 combinations of precision push-pull connectors used by 100,000 customers in more
than 80 countries, includes rugged connectors for crash-test dummies, transducers, or data-acquisition units
17 sales subsidiaries located in the USA,
Europe and Asia, providing customers with
local services such as technical support
and cable assembly. The companys main
sales subsidiaries are equipped for cable
assembly with the latest cable preparation,
termination and test equipment, both
manual and automatic.
Each year Lemo receives over 70 specic
customer-development requests and the
experienced and creative engineering team
will identify a suitable custom solution. To
complete the development phase, detailed
lab-test reports and connector-performance
results will be supplied to the customer.
You can visit Lemo in September at the
Automotive Testing Expo 2009 in Shanghai,
China (booth 3016).
lll .
For more information, contact: LEMO tel: +41 2169
51600; email: info@lemo.com; web: www.lemo.com
The knurled outer shell design affords good
grip and ingress protection, sealed to IP68
The M series conector for motorsport and military use
has an optional backend for over-molding onto a cable
- Airbag-Tests
- Seat Belt Tests
- Tank-Tests
- Cold Gas Inflators
measure & test
HuDe Mess- & Anlagentechnik GmbH
Web: www.hude.com E-Mail: info@hude.com
Automotive Testing Systems
Web: www.hude.com E-Mail: info@hude.com
- Linear-Impactors
- Head-Impactors
- Knee-Impactors
- Body-Block-Tests
HuDe Mess- & Anlagentechnik GmbH - Gewerbestrae Sd 55 - D-41812 Erkelenz (Germany)
Testing
Hardware
Software
Analysis
Engineering
MZ
AUTOMOTIVE TESTING EXPO INDIA 2010, Abinger House, Church Street, Dorking, Surrey RH4 1DF, UK
Tel: +44 (0) 1306 743744 Fax: +44 (0) 1306 877411 email: expo@ukintpress.com
www.testing-expo.com
2, 3, 4, FEBRUARY 2010
Hitex Exhibition Centre in Hyderabad, India
Indias ONLY Automotive Testing, Evaluation
and Quality Engineering Trade Fair
Crash testing is being affected by several
factors in addition to the economy. New
materials are being introduced and must
be validated. Tests are added to improve
the safety of driver, passengers, and also
pedestrians. Regulations are changing to
allow different types of sensors to be used
and to align the requirements for a global
industry. These developments combine
to drive the need for innovation and new
solutions for crash-test accelerometers.
Historically, undamped accelerometers
have provided the fast rise time and broad-
frequency response that users demanded.
While those accelerometers are still trusted
for most dummy applications, new materials
and new tests have driven the need for
lightly damped accelerometers. One example
application is the pedestrian headform test,
where the headform strikes the windshield
of a vehicle. This test can excite the
frequencies of an undamped accelerometer
and prevent accurate reading of the data. A
lightly damped accelerometer will attenuate
the resonances to make the data readable.
Endevco has responded to this industry
need by introducing the new model 7264G.
Utilizing a new, patented MEMS sensor, it is
designed for exceptional shock resistance up
to 10,000g in any direction in applications
that require minimal mass loading and
a broad-frequency response.
The 7264G is lightly damped, and offers
important ease-of-use features not found
elsewhere a full bridge with two active
arms and two xed resistors to facilitate
shunt calibration in a low-mass device
weighing only 1.4g. Plus, it has the same
center of gravity and bolt-hole spacing
as the highly popular 7264C for ease of
installation. Any input voltage between
2-10V is an option, to ensure the calibration
that is best for the application. Full scale
output is 400mV with 10Vdc excitation.
It is available with less than 1% transverse
sensitivity (T option) and less than 25 mV
zero measurand output (Z option).
Other important crash-lab requirements
include compliance with standards and
product reliability. The Endevco 7264G is
compliant with SAE J211 and J2570 and has
been referenced in technical bulletins from
EuroNCAP. Endevco has a reputation for
reliability, and the 7264G is expected to
be the toughest yet in the 7264 series.
Another change in the historical usage of
accelerometers for crash testing is the need
to put them in more and more locations on
the vehicle. Frequently, these new locations
are in a crush zone, which makes it very
difcult to retrieve the accelerometer. As cost
is always a consideration, test engineers had
to decide whether it was worth the effort
to dig the accelerometer from the wreckage.
Endevco has created two accelerometers
to address the need for more measurements
at a cost that allows for one-time use.
Applications include on-vehicle locations,
such as bumpers, fenders, doors and trunk
lids, which are likely to be heavily damaged
during test. The models 7286 and 7287 offer
many features designed for ease of use. For
example, they are small and can be mounted
with adhesive for easy application anywhere
on the vehicle. They use a smaller, smoother
Sensor
solutions
New materials and new tests, such as the pedestrian head-form test where the headform strikes
the windshield of a vehicle, have driven the need for lightly damped accelerometers
cable to allow for threading through tight
spaces. The 7286 is tailored for a 2V input
and the 7287 for 10V excitation. Both come
with a certied zero measurand output
(ZMO) to enable accurate measurements.
The 7286 and 7287 are ideal for
applications where certied performance
to a known specication for ZMO and
sensitivity is required. They offer important
advantages, such as the ability to predict
error budgets. This benet is the result
of specication to max or min values
of key parameters, not to typical values.
Additional features include full scale
range of 2,000g; frequency response
of 4,000Hz with resonant frequency of
20,000Hz; a small, lightweight design
for easy glue mounting; and rugged, PVC-
jacketed cable less than 2mm in diameter
for easy installation and cable routing,
with shielding to preserve signal integrity.
The global automotive testing industry is
seeing unprecedented change, and Endevco
provides innovations that enhance reliability,
performance and cost-effectiveness.
lll .
For more information, contact: Endevco; tel: +1 949
4938181; email:applications@endevco.com;
web: www.endevco.com
The 7264G features a new MEMS sensor
and is designed for shock resistance up to
10,000g in any direction
Chinas ONLY automotive test, evaluation and quality engineering trade show
September 15-17, 2009
The Shanghai Everbright Convention & Exhibition Center, Shanghai, China
AUTOMOTIVE TESTING EXPO CHINA 2009
Abinger House, Church Street,
Dorking, Surrey, RH4 1DF, UK
Tel: +44 (0) 1306 743744
Fax: +44 (0) 1306 877411
email: expo@ukintpress.com www.testing-expochina.com
Our business partner in China is:
Mr. Wilko Fong
Reliable International Exhibition Services Co Ltd
Rm.1702, Bldg.6, SOHO New Town, No. 88 Jianguo Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100022, P.R. China
Tel: +86 10 85898181 Fax: + 86 10 85898180 Email: wilko_fong@reliable.org.cn
32 SOFTWARE
Cost-effective
CAE solutions
The increasing power of simulation has transformed the way automotive systems are designed, making
areas such as occupant safety analyses less time-consuming and therefore more cost-effective
is simply not possible using FEA methods
that take many hours per run. Instead,
many leading safety-system design teams
use MADYMO for occupant safety analyses
and design optimization. With MADYMO,
a software package developed by TASS-safe,
an occupant safety system can be designed,
thoroughly analyzed, and efciently
optimized early in its development process.
MADYMO simulations correlate well
with real crash results, but they take
only a few minutes to complete rather
than many hours.
The high computational speed of
MADYMO simulations enables the analysis
of a large set of design variables. Safety
designers can easily apply design-of-
experiment methods and optimization
techniques together with MADYMO to
explore the effects of multiple variables
simultaneously, and they can use the
latest stochastic analysis techniques to
take account of the effects of differences
in manufacturing tolerances and dummy
behavior. With these approaches, they
produce robust designs and manage
extremely stringent legislative constraints
with condence. Users thereby reduce
the need for prototype testing, and
minimize the risk of design changes
late in the development process. The
use of MADYMO can therefore lead
to considerable reductions in costs
and time-to-market.
One key application for early design-
stage simulation is in deciding which
safety systems should be implemented in
a particular vehicle. Development teams
face a series of difcult decisions as they
work to produce vehicles to comply with
ever-tightening crash-safety legislation.
They must decide whether high-cost
additions such as extra airbags are likely
Introducing a new
component early in the
program is much more
effective than having to
integrate one later after
a crash-test failure
Through extensive use of simulation,
vehicle crash tests are largely used for nal
validation of solutions, rather than as a
means to discover limitations in the vehicles
safety performance. Doing this has cut
development costs and helped to ensure that
complex programs run on schedule. Today,
however, leading car makers are exploiting
the power and exibility of crash simulation
in new ways. By introducing the simulation
at the very earliest stages of design, before
any but the most basic vehicle parameters
have been established, they are making
more robust, cost-effective decisions
on safety systems.
Simulating and optimizing restraint-
system designs requires many hundreds
to thousands of simulation runs. This
Above: Xxxxxxx
Above: With the help of MADYMO, a European OEM engineering team was able to deliver
a design that fullled the intrusion and stiffness requirements without the additional airbag
SOFTWARE 33
to be required so that a vehicle meets the
safety requirements of all its target markets,
or whether the geometry and stiffness of
the vehicle can be designed to offer the
occupants sufcient protection without the
additional components. Every extra safety
system is likely to eat into the prot margins
for the vehicle, but introducing a new
component early in the program is much
more effective than having to integrate
one later after a crash-test failure.
In a recent project a European OEM
worked with TASS-safe on just such a
problem. The car maker had to decide if
a knee airbag would be required to offer
the driver adequate lower-leg protection
in the event of an accident. No engineering
data on the new vehicle was available at the
time, so the TASS-safe team built simulation
models using guideline data on the overall
size and shape of the vehicle, together
with the stiffness characteristics of known
components such as the steering column.
Over a period of one month,
TASS-safe ran a series of simulations
using different crash conditions and
occupant characteristics. The outcome
of this simulation program was a set of
specications for the lower instrument
panel of the new vehicle, which outlined
the stiffness and intrusion prole that
would be required if the panel were
to be able to absorb the impact of
an occupants legs safely.
The OEM engineers were able to take
this data and evaluate it against their other
constraints on packaging and component
design as the required intrusion prole
would mean keeping an area behind the
lower instrument panel free of hard objects.
The OEM engineering team was able to
deliver a design that fullled the intrusion
and stiffness requirements without the
additional airbag. This decision not
only saved several hundred euros per
vehicle in production costs, it also helped
to simplify control, maintenance, and
end-of-life dismantling. The stiffness
requirements produced by TASS-safe
as a result of its simulation project were
used to create specications for component
tests. These specications were used by the
OEMs instrument panel module suppliers
to ensure that prototype parts performed
in the right way, before moving forward
to production.
The latest version of the MADYMO
software, V7.0, introduces a token-based
licensing system. MADYMO tokens give
access to all modules in the software suite,
so customers no longer need to make
a selection of modules prior to their
purchase. Using tokens, customers can gear
the capabilities provided by the MADYMO
software suite to their uctuating simulation
needs. For example, MADYMO tokens
give access to a module that is only used
occasionally without having to purchase
a separate license for it. Tokens that would
normally be dedicated to pre and post-
processing can be used to temporarily
increase simulation capabilities when
needed. So MADYMO tokens provide
customers with maximum exibility
and efciency for the value of the license
purchase. Next to the new token licensing,
MADYMO V7.0 also still supports the
traditional module-based licensing.
An additional benet of MADYMO V7.0
is that the use of CPU tokens to run
MADYMO in SMP or MPP is free of charge.
TASS-safe and Altair recently announced
the addition of the entire MADYMO
software suite to the Altair HyperWorks
Enabled Community (HWEC). HyperWorks
customers will be able to download
MADYMO V7.0 at zero incremental cost
using the existing HyperWorks license
system at www.hyperworkscommunity.com.
TASS-safes director of sales and
marketing, Frank Litjens, says, We at TASS-
safe are thrilled about our new partnership
with Altair because it increases the value
customers receive from their existing
license purchases. We see this strategic
and commercial partnership as a great
advantage for our mutual customers,
especially in these challenging times.
In particular our FE-Harmonization
products are priced very attractively under
the Altair licensing system, he continues.
These FE-Harmonization products enable
the use of MADYMO dummy models and
occupant-safety technologies in conjunction
with FE codes such as RADIOSS, LS-DYNA,
PAM-CRASH, and ABAQUS to predict the
safety performance of a vehicle during a
virtual crash simulation. This partnership
also further strengthens TASS-safes market
position and provides new opportunities
for future growth.
lll .
For more information, contact: TASS-safe;
tel: +31 888 277 000; email: info@tass-safe.com;
web: www.tass-safe.com
This decision not only
saved several hundred
Euros per vehicle, it
also helped to simplify
control, maintenance,
and end-of-life
dismantling
Above: MADYMO V7.0 contains new features
such as token licensing, CouplingAssistant,
Euro- & USNCAP rating, and free SMP/MPP
Right: TASS-safe and Altair have added the
entire MADYMO software suite to the Altair
HyperWorks Enabled Community (HWEC)
34 SOFTWARE
Founded in 1996, Orme is inuential in
helping businesses meet their test analysis
needs, especially in signal and image
processing.
Based in Labge, near Toulouse, France,
the company currently has a team of six
people, who are specialists in measurement
acquisition and processing, as well as in
software development.
Orme is now set to enter the Indian
market, with bespoke service assignments
ranging from the studies of new algorithm
methods to the production of systems and
software for signal and image acquisition
and processing.
To aid this endeavor, the company
has developed two software applications
devoted to measurement analysis. The rst
is TrackImage, which performs automatic
image sequence motion analysis. Based
on the most recently developed algorithms,
TrackImage is a powerful image analysis
software tool that is used in many different
elds, including automotive, aeronautics,
defense, energy, ergonomics, biology,
geology, space, sports, and more.
There are several modules available
for the package, such as trajectography,
deformation tracking, virtual object
simulation, airbag deployment analysis,
uids analysis, and rotating machine
analysis.
The second application is TrackReport,
which performs signal and automatic test
report analysis, as well as automated test
report generation. The package enables:
data import in various le formats or via
an ASAM-ODS database; data processing
by way of mathematical functions libraries;
a report edition; report print or export in
various (dynamic or static) formats; and
data and results archiving.
TrackReport enables users to dene
Signal and image
processing
Two software applications are set to streamline measurement
analysis for the crash-test industry
templates for data analysis and visualization
(known as models), including the
calculation sequence applied to input
data, and a graphical setup with text
areas, graphs, images, image sequences
or videos, tables, color maps, etc.
There are also several operational
modules available for TrackReport, including
crash test analysis biomechanical criteria,
acoustic functions, ASAM-ODS database,
and 3D visualization.
Moreover, the company provides training
for signal and image processing technicians
and engineers, as well as training sessions
devoted to its TrackImage and TrackReport
products.
Orme will be showing off its products
at Crash Test Expo 2009, held in Stuttgart,
Germany (Hall 1, booth C2004), from
June 16-18. The company will also be
welcoming its customers at the brand-
new Automotive Testing Expo India,
which will be held at the HITEX Exhibition
Centre in Hyderabad (booth 4060), from
February 2-4, 2010.
lll .
For more information, contact: Orme;
tel: +33 561 0025 70; web: www.orme-toulouse.com
TrackImage calculates the dynamic parameters of the test:
positions, speeds, accelerations, distances, angles, etc
Above: TrackReport can make several types of graphical
representation of test result data, simplifying analysis
Right: Rotation center tracking, instantaneous angular
speed measurement, and blades and housing
deformation tracking carried out in TrackImage
www.AutomotiveTestingTechnologyInternational.com
Automotive Testing
Technology International
goes digital!
www. Automoti veTesti ngTechnol ogyInter nati onal .com
| News & exclusives | Supplier directory | Recruitment
| Industry opinions | Image gallery | Read the latest issue online
36 SOFTWARE
Animator4, the leading FEA post-
processor brought to life one year ago, is
making its way into the different sectors of
the automotive industry. When Animator4
was launched, all the interfaces and the
workflow were focused on crash analysis.
The main interfaces at that time were
Dyna, Pamcrash, Radioss, and Abaqus.
The next step was to enter the world
of test engineering. With the interfaces
for ISO-MME and DIAdem, testing data-
time history information from the testing
environment made its way into Animator4.
The curve manipulation possibilities, such
as filtering and advanced mathematical
operations, provided a short and simple way
for the engineers to compare many different
data sources, such as accelerometers and
load cells, with the time-history output
of an FEA simulation. Operations such as
integration and differentiation are available
to the users by a mouse click.
The next step in collaborative
development was the integration of video
comparisons, enabling the reading of test
videos on a lot of differently supported video
formats. It provides a sophisticated method
of handling the model by overlaying it over
the video to make it simple to compare the
kinematic behavior of the model in respect
to the test.
The next department to be embraced by
Animator4 is NVH. The NVH engineers now
get the full functionality of Animator4 on
their desks to help them in their simulation
work, which focuses on noise, comfort, and
the stiffness of the car body. The first step,
released in version 1.1.3 in spring 2009,
FEA post-processing
The development of Animator4 is enabling its use in an increasing number of auto engineering arenas
Above: Curve manipulation possibilities, such as ltering and advanced mathematical operations, are provided for
engineers to compare different data sources, such as accelerometers and load cells, with FEA time-history output
Above: Animator4 features an intuitive user interface
is the support for frequency response
calculations.
Based on an eigenvalue analysis,
the response of the model is calculated.
A simple and intuitive user interface
guides the analyst through the relevant
steps. Even more types of solution for
NVH will be added to Animator4 in
upcoming versions.
Now Animator4 can be used in at
least three different areas of automotive
engineering, reducing the costs for software
management and licenses.
This software will help to reduce
overheads from the engineers as well as
the need to change personnel in different
departments, giving a better work-load level
and using the broad possibilities Animator4
gives to end users.
lll .
For more information, contact: GNS;
tel: +49 531 80112-0; fax: +49 531 80112-79;
email: mbox@gns-mbh.com;
web: www.gns-mbh.com
A simple and intuitive
user interface guides
the analyst through the
relevant steps. Even
more types of solution
for NVH will be added
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AUTOMOTIVE TESTING EXPO NORTH AMERICA 2009
The seventh North American show for automotive test,
evaluation and quality engineering will move to a
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday schedule for 2009.
For the rst time in its history, Automotive Testing
Expo North America will have the more accessible
schedule of a Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday show
(October 27, 28, 29), ensuring that the event is run
on the most effective business days.
Now established as North Americas leading
automotive test and evaluation trade show, Automotive
Testing Expo North America 2009 will bring together,
under one roof, the latest technologies and services
to improve the quality and the safety of vehicles.
As the number-one North American show for new
product launches and technology developments within
vehicle test and evaluation, Automotive Testing Expo
North America is set to surpass even the success
of the 2008 event.
Tel: +44 1306 743744; www.testing-expo.com/usa
CRASH TEST EXPO EUROPE 2009
Crash Test Expo Europe (June 16, 17,18), is an integral
part of Automotive Testing Expo Europe. As part of
the largest OEM show in Europe, which is constantly
expanding, Crash Test Expo is at the forefront of
industry trends and technology developments.
Crash Test Expo is the most important event in
Europe for the discussion of crash testing and safety
analysis. The 2009 show will provide an unrivalled
meeting point, with the majority of the worlds leading
organisations present. All of these organisations are
producing and developing the very latest technologies
for improving occupant and pedestrian safety.
Tel: +44 1306 743744; www.crashtest-expo.com
ENDEVCO CORPORATION
Since 1947, Endevco has been at the forefront of the
sensor industry, providing the highest quality products.
As the worlds preferred sensor supplier for mission-
critical applications, the company continues to
leverage its expertise with a reputation for industry
rsts in new products and materials. Endevco is
dedicated to delivering superior sensing solutions for
demanding shock, vibration and pressure applications
with a leadership role spanning decades in automotive
testing when accurate and reliable data is absolutely
vital. A broad range of standard products is available
along with advanced custom-design capabilities, all
backed by a global network of manufacturing and
research facilities, sales ofces and applications
engineers.
Tel: +1 949 493 8181; www.endevco.com
FTSA
First Technology Safety and Analysis (FTSA) is an
international group that harnesses the best of todays
technologies in the creation of quality products that
play important roles in improving the safety, comfort,
and protection of people and their environment.
First Technology Safety Systems (FTSS), a division
of FTSA, is a leading supplier in the design,
development, and manufacture of sophisticated crash
test dummies, associated technical support and
laboratory services, development, and supply of FE
software dummy models for computerized crash test
simulations, and specializes in static and dynamic
strain measurements. The company provides total
solutions to industrial weighing, onboard weighing
and the engineering environments with its range
of load-cell products. Its force-sensing automotive
crash test walls are a logical complement to the
divisions advanced dummy portfolio.
Tel: +31 15 219 2048; www.ftss.com
GNS

GNS was founded by a group of engineering analysis
experts in Germany at the end of 1994. With the
expertise and ambition of over 60 such experts, GNS
is now providing services such as mesh generation
for complex shell and solid structures, analysis using
state-of-the-art nite element and boundary element
codes, and development of customized software tools
such as user interfaces, graphic post processors, and
so on.
GNS develops special material models, such
as those used for foams and honeycomb structures.
It also advises companies on how to integrate or
optimize numerical analysis into their design process.
GNS develops and supports advanced commercial
software products such as ANIMATOR4, GENERATOR2
and INDEED, tailored to meet the needs of demanding
clients and industrys toughest engineering problems.
Tel: +49 53180 1120; www.gns-mbh.com
HUDE
HuDe has been a worldwide supplier of test equipment
for more than 25 years. The companys automotive
inspection systems are available for the complete
range of a vehicles passive safety parts, such
as igniters, inators, all kinds of airbags,
safety belts, etc.
Mechanical impact testers are delivered as drop
towers, pendulums, linear impact testers, and several
types of torso launchers. HuDe provides turnkey lab
installations tailor-made to clients in R&D labs and
quality inspection elds. Engineering, production,
service and calibration come out of one hand.
Representatives are available in Europe, North
and South America, and Asia.
Tel: +49 2431 96800; www.hude.com
IMAGE SYSTEMS AB
Image Systems AB is a high-tech company
that specializes in motion analysis, advanced
software development, and high-resolution
digitizing of lm.
Image Systems is a world leader in motion
analysis of video and high-speed digital image
sequences. Its TrackEye software package is
primarily aimed toward the ight/military market,
and the user-friendly TEMA package is aimed toward
the automotive industry, and is widely adopted for
use in other industrial applications. Image Systems
lm scanners offer high resolution for a very
competitive price. The head ofce is located
in Linkping, Sweden.
Tel: +46 13 200 100; www.imagesystems.se
KAYSER-THREDE GMBH
Kayser-Threde GmbH is the worlds leading
developer and manufacturer of crash test data-
acquisition systems. With a more than 30-year
history of developing the highest quality and
most reliable equipment on the market, we have
supplied more than 55,000 channels worldwide.
Our latest product developments include the
InDummy DAS MICRODAU, selling more than
4,000 channels over the last three years, and
the Advanced MINIDAU amplier.
With the addition of these products, we are
committed to supporting our customers well
into the future. To provide the best-possible service
to our customers, Kayser-Threde has opened
regional ofces in North America and China
for sales, engineering and service for
our products. Our ofces work in conjunction
38 DIRECTORY
DIRECTORY
CRASH TEST TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL SEPTEMBER 2008
MAY 2009
S
id
e
im
p
a
c
t
Cranfield
Impact Centre
Cran eld Universitys crash work
Find out further details about the advertisers in this issue online at: www.ukipme.com/recard/cttcard.html
ONLINE
READER
ENQUIRY
SERVICE
Index to advertisers
Automotive Testing Expo China 2009 ....................31
Automotive Testing Expo India 2010 ...............25, 29
Crash Test Expo North America ............................19
Crash Test Technology International Online
Reader Enquiry Service ................................38, 40
Endevco ...................................................................7
FTSS - First Technology Safety Systems............. IFC
GNS ........................................................................15
HuDe ......................................................................29
Image Systems .........................................................9
Kistler ...............................................................11, 13
KT Automotive ....................................................OBC
LEMO SA ................................................................15
Luminys Systems Corp ..........................................19
Mercedes-Benz Technology Centre .....................37
Olympus .................................................................13
ORME .....................................................................17
PCO AG ..................................................................17
Photron (Europe) Ltd ................................................3
Seattle Safety .........................................................11
TASS ....................................................................IBC
www.AutomotiveTestingTechnology
International.com ................................................35
with our worldwide representatives to give
our customers the support they desire,
24 hours per day.
Tel: +49 89 724 950; www.kayser-threde.com
KISTLER INSTRUMENTE AG
Kistlers core competence is the development,
production and use of sensors for measuring pressure,
force and acceleration. Kistlers know-how and
electronic systems can be used to help prepare
measuring signals for use in analyzing physical
processes, controlling and optimizing industrial
processes, improving product quality in the area of
manufacturing, and further improving performance
levels in sport and rehabilitation.
Kistler offers a comprehensive range of sensors
and systems for engine development, automotive
engineering, plastics, and metal processing, as
well as installation technology and biomechanics.
A worldwide sales presence that comes in the form
of 18 group companies and 30 distributors helps
to ensure customer proximity, application support
on an individual level, and short lead times.
Tel: +41 52 224 1111; www.kistler.com
LEMO
LEMO has been manufacturing connectors since
1946 and is an expert in precision machining and
plastic-mold injection. Since its foundation the
company has strived to supply faultless products
which epitomise the know-how of Swiss industry.
LEMOs product quality reputation has now become
known worldwide. Logically, our quality assurance
system, was one of the rst certied in 1990
according to the ISO 9000 standard.
LEMO offers a range of rugged connectors
that are used in crash-test dummies, transducers
or data-acquisition units. LEMOs production is
organized in a way to ensure maximum independence
from external suppliers. From raw material to
nished product, more than 90% of the process
is achieved in-house. Today LEMO is able to build
new process equipment, develop new products and
sell through its 17 subsidiaries located worldwide.
With the help of over 1,100 employees, LEMO has
established an expertise in connector manufacturing
and cable assembly.
Tel: +41 2169 51687; www.lemo.com
Crash Test Expo Europe 2009 Exhibitor
DIRECTORY 39
LUMINYS
Light, light and more light one million watts and
more of even shadowless high-quality light for
barrier testing with smaller units available for sled,
lab or HiG force onboard illumination. See our new,
patent pending, SunSource with our Omni reector
system developed for barrier and sled testing.
We specialize in ultra-high intensity, compact
light xtures that enable high-quality images. The
combination of proven lighting design techniques,
expertise in installation architecture, and a track
record of awless reliability in complex, unforgiving
environments combine to make us the leading
choice for high-intensity lighting.
Tel: +1 323 461 6361; web: www.luminyscorp.com
MERCEDES-BENZ TECHNOLOGY CENTER
Web: www3.mercedes-benz.com
OLYMPUS
Olympus Industrial is renowned as a leading
supplier of remote visual inspection (RVI) equipment
for engineering and maintenance applications
throughout the world. The range includes the
i-SPEED high-speed video camera system.
High-speed video cameras have been used
extensively throughout the industry for many
years, to analyze fast-moving actions by providing
a slow-motion playback of high-speed events.
Areas such as vehicle-impact safety testing,
biomechanics, airbag development, and the
research and development of new manufacturing
processes have found the technique invaluable for
the design and ongoing improvement of products
and productivity.
Tel: +44 (0)1702 616333; www.olympusindustrial.com
ORME
ORME is a French company specializing in signal
and image processing. Its activities include specic
algorithm studies and software developments, as well
as training and consulting. ORME also develops and
commercializes two software applications dedicated
to measurement analysis. TrackImage is designed
to automatically analyze sequences of digital images
through 2D and 3D motion tracking, deformation
tracking, airbag deployment, virtual object inlay,
and so on, and TrackReport is designed for test-data
analysis and automatic report generation. ORME relies
upon its know-how in test analysis, and on a full
and efcient service to the customer.
Tel: +33 56100 2570; www.orme-toulouse.com
PCO
Tel: +49 9441 2005 0; www.pco.de
PHOTRON
Photron is a global manufacturer of high-speed
digital imaging systems and solutions for slow-
motion analysis. High-G high-speed systems
include the MH-4 high-speed camera system
that provides four sub-compact tethered (1m to
10m cable lengths standard) cameras, connecting
to a single small processor. The MH-4 features 2,000
full, 512 x 512 pixel resolution frames per second (fps)
for use in tight connes such as the footwell or in-
dash. Photrons super-sensitive mega-pixel APX-RS
is the worlds fastest mega-pixel high-speed video
system. The unit operates at mega-pixel resolution
to 3,000fps and offers a maximum speed capacity
of 250,000fps.
Tel: +1 858 684 3555; www.photron.com
SEATTLE SAFETY
Tel: +1 253 395 4321; www.seattlesafety.com
TASS
TASS is the leading supplier of advanced safety design
software solutions for the automotive, aviation and
other transport industries. Building on over 30 years
of experience in software development, safety
engineering and crash testing, allows us to deliver
world-class products and a wide range of engineering
services to meet your safety requirements. Our aim is
to make transport systems beyond safe. We want
them to be TASS-safe.
Our MADYMO software is the worldwide standard
software for occupant-safety analyses and design
optimization. With MADYMO an occupant safety
system can be designed, thoroughly analyzed, and
efciently optimized early in its development process.
Users thereby reduce the need for prototype testing
and minimize the risk of design changes late in the
development process.
Tel: +31 15 269 7532; www.tass-safe.com
Surprisingly, the only
physical damage Rusty
has suffered has been
minor scars, avulsions,
and cuts from airbag
seams and jagged metal,
and bumps and bruises
LEGENDS
Not clowning around: The lipstick is to mark the
airbag, and the target is for a high-speed video trace
In July 2009, W. R. Rusty Haight will
hit the big 5-0. This is no mean feat for
someone who has driven in no fewer than
901 crash tests during his career (a mere
128 of these have been in cars with airbags),
which has earned the living legend the
nickname human crash test dummy.
Following extensive practical experience
as a San Diego police ofcer assigned to the
Accident Investigation Bureau, Rusty
volunteered for his rst crash in June 1990.
It wasnt until 1997 that he tested with an
airbag, in a Chevy Caprice, and he has
destroyed 33 Ford Crown Victorias to date.
Rusty is no hooligan, though he is
currently director of the Collision Safety
Institute, a crash research, training, and
consulting center operating primarily in
the USA, Canada, and Australasia. He is
also a trafc safety researcher and practicing
trafc collision reconstructionist expert
witness/consultant.
As one of two approved crash data
retrieval system operator instructors in
North America, one of Rustys areas of
particular interest and expertise is the
automobile black box. Indeed, more than
200 of his crash tests have been conducted
to evaluate the function and reliability of
the technology.
Walking miracle
W. R. Rusty Haight
is a real-life crash
test dummy
A professional CV, but why all the
crashes? It all comes down to his beloved
Institute: I teach crash analysis/crash
reconstruction and, just like when we
were kids in school learning anatomy and
we dissected the frog, we learn by doing.
Running an instrumented, documented,
controlled, planned crash test, on site where
were teaching, gives us a lab condition in
which the students can actually learn more.
Surprisingly, the only physical damage
Rusty has suffered has been minor scars,
avulsions, and cuts from airbag seams and
jagged metal, and a few bumps and bruises.
Why no more injuries? Planning, he states.
Every crash is planned, evaluated, and then
calculations checked to make sure were
getting the crash dynamics were trying
to show in a range I am willing to tolerate.
A combination of brains, charm, and
an adventurous approach to science
have made Rusty something of a celebrity.
Indeed, he holds the Guinness World
Record for Most Human Subject Crash
Tests, as well as being recognized as one
of the 25 Toughest Guys in America by
Mens Journal magazine and for having an
Amazing Body by GQ magazine. In 2005
he hit US TV screens, hosting the crash
science show Accident Investigator.
40 INDUSTRY PEOPLE
By Adam Gavine
ONLINE
READER
ENQUIRY
SERVICE
MAY 2009
S
id
e
im
p
a
c
t
Cranfield
Impact Centre
Cran eld Universitys crash work
Find out further details about the advertisers in this issue online at: www.ukipme.com/recard/cttcard.html
The makers of
TASS is the leading supplier of advanced safety design
software solutions for the automotive, aviation and other
transport industries across the globe. We work closely
with our clients to help them to enhance the economy and
effectiveness of their safety design and provide customer-
specic solutions.
New MADYMO Version 7.0 is available now!
For more information please visit us at www.tass-safe.com
MULTI-BODY
FINITE ELEMENT
CFD
DUMMY MODELS
AIRBAG MODELS
SEATBELT MODELS
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