Evaluation of the performance of the THOR-alpha dummy

47th Stapp Car Crash Journal, , , -Six European laboratories have evaluated the biomechanical response of the new advanced frontal impact dummy THOR-alpha with respect to the European impact response requirements. Me results indicated that for many of the body regions (e.g. shoulder, spine, thorax, femur/knee) the THOR-alpha response was close to the human response and more biofidelic than die Hybrid111. In addition, the durability, repeatability and sensitivity for some dummy regions have been evaluated. Based on the tests performed, it was found that the THOR-alpha is less durable than the Hybrid-III. The Jack in durability of the THOR-alpha caused a problem in completing the full test program and in evaluating the repeatability of the dummy. Results have demonstrated that the assessment of frontal impact protection can be greatly improved with a more advanced frontal impact dummy. Regarding biofidelity and injury assessment capabilities, 'the THOR-alpha is a good candidate however it needs to be brought up to standard in other areas. Based on the results obtained recommendations were defined for the improvement of the THOR-alpha dummy. Mots clés libres :performance, biofidelity, thor-alpha, HYBRID-III

Biofidelity impact response requirements for an advanced mid-sized male crash test dummy

The frontal crash is still an important contributor to deaths and serious injured resulting from road accidents in Europe. As the Hybrid-III dummy used in crash tests is over two decades old, the European Enhanced Vehicle-safety Committee is studying the potential for a new test device. Key is the availability of a well-defined set of requirements that identifies the minimum level of biofidelity required for an advanced frontal dummy. In this paper, a complete set of frontal impact biofidelity requirements, consisting of references, description of test conditions and corridors, is presented