Pedestrian Protection

Evalution of active deployable systems regarding passive safety

Safety in the framework of a test procedure for pedestrian protection (FE 82.350/2008)

Since the introduction of the EU-directive 2003/102/EG and the following EU-regulation VO (EG) 78/2009, requirements concerning pedestrian protection for new vehicle models on the European market are compulsory. At the same time, the EU-regulation presents the realization of the global technical regulation on pedestrian protection (GTR No. 9) which was also passed in 2009. The test methods used in the field of passive vehicle safety are only providing a testing of passive systems at present, although they do not necessarily fulfill all the requirements of current legal regulations and consumer protection (Euro NCAP). Thus, active systems of passive vehicle safety, such as deployable bonnets and outside airbags, steadily increase in importance. Based on already existing test methods, an integrated test regulation for active systems, regarding possible implementation into legislation at a later date, will be developed in this project.

Active deployable systems, consisting of sensor systems which serves the purpose of pedestrian detection and actuating elements in order to deploy the safety device, have already been integrated in some cars available on the market, for example the Mercedes E-class or the BMW 5 series. When developing a test method for active deployable systems, the mere consideration of biomechanical limits is no longer sufficient, since the performance of the two components must be evaluated as well. One main focus of the investigation within this project will be the corresponding use of impactors for functionality analysis of contact-based sensor systems as well as dynamic component tests, where the launching of the head impactor and the deployment of the safety device take place simultaneously.

Fig. Time flow of a test procedure for active deployable systems

In this research project the latest state of the art regarding active deployable systems will be shown and requirements of individual components relevant to test facilities will be derived. Based on a holistic understanding of active deployable components, different kinds of testing methods will be composed whereby their applicability in testing laboratories will be discussed with the help of exemplary test executions. To monitor the latest progress of the project and compare it to the knowledge of vehicle and sensor manufacturers, the exchange with experts is attached great importance to.

ika is the contractor of this research project initiated and promoted by the Federal Highway Research Institute (Bundesanstalt für Straßenwesen; BASt). The project started in November 2009 and will run for 19 months.