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UPDATE ON NHTSA'S OBLIQUE RESEARCH PROGRAM

James SaundersDan ParentNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration

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AGENDA

• BACKGROUNDNHTSA Oblique RMDB ProcedureIIHS Small Overlap Procedure

• FINDINGS TO DATE• CURRENT RESEARCH

ObjectiveAdditional Vehicle TestsNew Methodologies

• RESULTSVehicle ResponseOccupant Response

• CONCLUSIONS• NEXT STEPS

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BACKGROUND – NHTSA OBLIQUE RMDB

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RMDB Speed 56 mph (90 kph)

Overlap 35 percent

Impact Angle 15 degrees (PDOF = 345)

Occupants Near-side(Driver)

THOR Mod Kit 50th Male

Far-side(Passenger)

THOR Mod Kit 50th Male

Research Moving Deformable Barrier (RMDB)

Near-Side Occupant

Far-Side Occupant

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BACKGROUND – IIHS SMALL OVERLAP

• IIHS TOP SAFETY PICK+ RATING CRITERIA

Top Safety Pick andOverall rating of “Good” or “Acceptable” in IIHS Small Overlap ImpactNew for 2014 Top Safety Pick+: vehicle must have basic, advanced or superior rating for front crash prevention

• IIHS SMALL OVERLAP IMPACT RATING CRITERIA

OverallStructuralHead/NeckChestKnee/ThighLeg/FootKinematics

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40 mph

25% Overlap

Rigid Barrier

150 mmRadius

HIII 50th

Male

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NHTSA OBLIQUE FINDINGS TO DATE

• OBLIQUE RMDB TESTS18 vehicle tests to date, two occupants in each vehicle

• 2012 SAE WORLD CONGRESSOblique test procedure representative of vehicle-to-vehicle crash test

• 2013 SAE WORLD CONGRESSOblique test procedure is repeatable

• 2013 ESVNewer, high sales volume vehicles show similar injury risk trends to previous test vehiclesFar-side occupant response demonstrated high head rotational velocity with high brain injury risk (BrIC)

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CURRENT RESEARCH OBJECTIVE

• QUESTIONWould vehicles that perform well in the IIHS Small Overlap test procedure require additional countermeasures to perform well in the NHTSA Oblique RMDB test procedure?

• APPROACHTest five vehicles that achieved an IIHS Top Safety Pick+ designation in the NHTSA Oblique RMDB test procedure

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NHTSA TEST # YEAR MAKE MODEL

TEST WEIGHT (KG) VEHICLE CLASS

8477 2013 Honda Civic 1544 Small PC8089 2013 Hyundai Elantra 1590 Small PC8476 2013 Dodge Dart 1738 Small PC8488 2012 Volvo S60 N/A Midsize PC8478 2014 Subaru Forester 1803 Small SUV8475 2013 Volvo XC60 2153 Midsize SUV

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UPDATES TO OCCUPANT RESPONSE METHODOLOGY

• TEST DEVICESBoth THOR ATDs updated to newest Mod Kit design level including w/SD-3 shoulder

• INJURY CRITERIAUpdated BrIC methodology applied

• Takhounts, 2013 StappUpdated thoracic injury criterion applied

• See G105 Biomechanics, “4-Point Thoracic Injury Criteria for THOR”

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Group Name TSP+ Non-TSP+Description Vehicles that achieved an IIHS

Top Safety Pick+ designation for their given model year

Vehicles that did not achieve aIIHS Top Safety Pick+designation for their given model year

* Note that several vehicle model years were tested before TSP+ designation was developed

Number of Vehicles 5 14Number of Near-sideOccupants

5 14

Number of Far-sideOccupants

5 8

RESULTS: METHODOLOGY

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RESULTS: VEHICLE RESPONSE

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RESULTS: NEAR-SIDE OCCUPANT RESPONSE

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RESULTS: FAR-SIDE OCCUPANT RESPONSE

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EXAMPLE CHART

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0.00

20.00

40.00

60.00

80.00

100.00

120.00

140.00

160.00

180.00

200.00

TSP+(N=5)

NOT TSP+(N=14)

Varia

ble

Variable

TTest (<.05 StatisticallySignificantDifference)

MeanMean S.D.

Mean + S.D.

Value

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INTRUSION MEASUREMENTS

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TOEPAN INTRUSIONS

14

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

200

TSP+(N=5)

NOT TSP+(N=14)

Toep

an A

1

0

50

100

150

200

250

TSP+(N=5)

NOT TSP+(N=14)

Toep

an B

1 *

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TOEPAN INTRUSIONS

15

0

50

100

150

200

250

TSP+(N=5)

NOT TSP+(N=14)

Toep

an C

1

0

50

100

150

200

250

TSP+(N=5)

NOT TSP+(N=14)

Toep

an D

1

*

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STEERING WHEEL (SW) Y AND Z

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-10

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

TSP+(N=5)

NOT TSP+(N=14)

SW Y

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

TSP+(N=5)

NOT TSP+(N=14)

SW Z

*

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LEFT AND RIGHT INSTRUMENT PANEL (IP)

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0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

TSP+(N=5)

NOT TSP+(N=14)

Left

IP

Left IP

-10

10

30

50

70

90

110

130

TSP+(N=5)

NOT TSP+(N=14)

Rig

ht IP

Right IP

*

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0.00

0.50

1.00

1.50

2.00

2.50

3.00

Near-sideTSP+(N=5)

Near-sideNon-TSP+

(N=14)

Far-sideTSP+(N=5)

Far-sideNon-TSP+

(N=8)

Brain Injury Risk (BrIC)

0.00

0.50

1.00

1.50

2.00

Near-sideTSP+(N=5)

Near-sideNon-TSP+

(N=14)

Far-sideTSP+(N=5)

Far-sideNon-TSP+

(N=8)

Head Injury Risk (HIC15)

PRELIMINARY OCCUPANT INJURY RISK

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For the far side occupant, brain injury risk predicted using BrIC is on average higher for TSP+ vehicles than for Non-TSP+ vehicles but not statistically-significant

Mea

n IA

V /

Pro

visi

onal

IAR

V Head Injury Risk (HIC15)Provisional IARV =11% Risk of AIS 3+

Brain Injury Risk (BrIC)Provisional IARV =50% Risk of AIS 3+

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0.00

0.50

1.00

1.50

2.00

Near-sideTSP+(N=5)

Near-sideNon-TSP+

(N=14)

Far-sideTSP+(N=5)

Far-sideNon-TSP+

(N=8)

Chest Injury Risk (Peak Resultant Deflection)

PRELIMINARY OCCUPANT INJURY RISK

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No statistically-significant differences in chest injury risk between TSP+ and Non-TSP+

Mea

n IA

V /

Pro

visi

onal

IAR

V Chest Injury Risk (Peak Resultant Deflection)Provisional IARV =

50% Risk of AIS 3+ for 45-year-old

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0.00

0.50

1.00

1.50

2.00

Near-sideTSP+(N=5)

Near-sideNon-TSP+

(N=14)

Far-sideTSP+(N=5)

Far-sideNon-TSP+

(N=8)

Acetabulum Injury Risk (Peak Resultant Force)

Near-sideTSP+(N=5)

Near-sideNon-TSP+

(N=14)

Far-sideTSP+(N=5)

Far-sideNon-TSP+

(N=8)

Femur Injury Risk(Peak Axial Force)

PRELIMINARY OCCUPANT INJURY RISK

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No statistically-significant differences in acetabulum, femur, or tibia injury risk between TSP+ vehicles and Non-TSP+ vehicles

Mea

n IA

V /

Pro

visi

onal

IAR

V

Near-sideTSP+(N=5)

Near-sideNon-TSP+

(N=14)

Far-sideTSP+(N=5)

Far-sideNon-TSP+

(N=8)

Tibia Injury Risk(Revised Tibia Index)

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OBSERVATIONS

• TOP SAFETY PICK+ VEHICLES IN NHTSA OBLIQUE

Less intrusion (some statistically significant)• Average interior intrusion points were smaller for the TSP+

when compared Non-TSP+, except for SW YSimilar injury risk (none statistically significant)

• Even with interior intrusion being less for TSP+ there were no statistically-significant differences in injury risk between TSP+ and non-TSP+ groupsSome vehicles that perform well in the IIHS Small

Overlap frontal impact test may require additional countermeasures in the NHTSA Oblique test mode

• LIMITATIONSPreliminary dataRelatively small sample size (N=5 vs N=14)

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NEXT STEPS

• PUBLISH TEST DATA AND REPORTS – 2014

• NHTSA AGENCY DECISION – 2014

• LOAN AGREEMENTAn agreement is place to allow manufacturers to perform Oblique and Small Overlap testing

• RMDB only• RMDB and THOR ATD(s)

Allows manufacturers to gain experience and provide feedback on NHTSA’s Small Overlap/Oblique test proceduresContact James Saunders (james.saunders@dot.gov)

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