Occupant injury in rear end impact is rapidly becoming one of the most aggravating traffic safety problems with high human suffering and societal costs. Although rear end impact occurs at relatively low speed, it may cause permanent disability due to ...
Occupant injury in rear end impact is rapidly becoming one of the most aggravating traffic safety problems with high human suffering and societal costs. Although rear end impact occurs at relatively low speed, it may cause permanent disability due to neck injuries resulting from an abrupt moment, shear force, and tension/ compression force at the occipital condyles. The analysis is performed for a combined occupant-seat model response, using the SAFE(Safety Analysis For occupant crash Environment) computer program. The computational results are verified by those from sled tests. A parameter study is conducted for many physical and mechanical properties. Seat design has been performed based on the design of experiment process with respect to five parameters seatback upholstery stiffness, torsional stiffness of the seatback, headrest upholstery stiffness, the clearance between occupant' s head and the headrest, and friction coefficient of the seatback