RESUMEN
The objective of our study was to investigate the properties of the BioRID II and RID2 dummies regarding repeatability and reproducibility as well as their suitability to identify the protection potential of different car seats. For repeatability and reproducibility tests, three BioRID II and three RID 2 dummies at current build levels were seated on a rigid bench seat equipped with a head restraint, and mounted on a HyGe-type sled. The test velocity was prescribed by the proposed ISO-Pulse. For testing the interaction of the dummies with varying car seat geometries and mechanical properties and their ability to assess the protection potential of the seats, three seat types with passive and one seat with an active head restraint system from different car manufacturers were used. The seats were chosen due to their injury protection potential, indicated by accident field data and results of seat evaluation tests. One BioRID II equipped with a T1-load cell and one RID2 were positioned side-by-side on identical seats for each test. The tests were performed at velocities prescribed by the ISO-Pulse (deltav 16km/h / 8 g max.)and a more severe pulse (deltav 24km/h / 13 g max.). The dummy responses were interpreted by applying all currently proposed whiplash injury criteria (e.g. NIC, N(km), NDC, LNL). A comparison of these criteria shows their sensitivity for identification of the respective seat protection potential. This study examines the repeatability, reproducibility, kinematics and sensitivity of these two dummies in sled tests as well as their suitability with regard to the different injury criteria. The RID2 exhibited better repeatability and reproducibility than the BioRID II, because of its simpler mechanical design. The dummies did not give a consistent ranking of the low-speed, rear-end impact protection potentials of the four seat evaluated. More experience is needed to decide which dummy, injury criteria and limits should be used to assess the whiplash protection potential of seat designs.
RESUMEN
The results of biomechanical testing of the WorldSID prototype dummy are presented in this paper. The WorldSID dummy is a new, advanced Worldwide Side Impact Dummy that has the anthropometry of a mid-sized adult male. The first prototype of this dummy has been evaluated by the WorldSID Task Group against previously established corridors for its critical body regions. The response corridors are defined in the International Organization of Standardization (ISO) Technical Report 9790. The prototype is the first version of the WorldSID dummy to be built and tested. This dummy has been subjected to a rigorous program of testing to evaluate, first and foremost its biofidelity, but also its repeatability. Following this initial evaluation, any required modifications will be incorporated into a pre-production version of the WorldSID dummy so that it rates "good" to "excellent" on the ISO dummy biofidelity scale - a rating exceeding that of all current side impact dummies. Also, the overall WorldSID repeatability must not exceed a coefficient of variation of 7% at injury assessment level and this has to be verified for the different body regions. The dummy's head, neck, thorax, abdomen and pelvis were evaluated against the ISO technical report requirements. Testing included drop tests, pendulum impacts, and sled tests. The biofidelity rating of the WorldSID prototype was calculated using the weighted biomechanical test response procedure developed by ISO. The paper presents the results of the testing, which give a very positive indication of the dummy's potential. Based on this evaluation of the dummy biofidelity, the WorldSID prototype dummy exhibits a biofidelity rating of 6.15 that corresponds to an ISO biofidelity classification of "fair". In addition, the dummy shows good repeatability with a global coefficient of variation of 3.30% for the pendulum and rigid sled tests.
