Cars' crashworthiness has considerably improved in Europe over the past 10 years, resulting in a significant reduction of intrusion into the passenger compartment. In addition to the structural improvements, the occupant restraint systems also were enhanced. Belt pretension, load limiting belts and dual airbags are standard equipment for front seats for the majority of cars sold in EU. The objective of this paper is to present the dual belt pretension as a mean to improve occupant protection in frontal impact. The dual pretension is part of a system that includes an anti submarining package, consisting of short belt tongue, lap-belt angle close to the vertical and a seat cushion with a frame to control pelvic motion. The dual pretension system operates in 2 stages: The buckle pretensioner is fired first, then a few milliseconds later the outer belt pretensioner is fired. The dual pretension provides further reduction of pelvic forward displacement, allowing the earlier contact of the pelvis with the antisubmarining seat frame. The dual pretension was validated in various test conditions. Test data are discussed in the paper.
Dual belt pretension & its potential for occupant protection in frontal impact
Das Potenzial einer zweifachen Gurtstraffung für den Insassenschutz beim Frontalaufprall
12 Seiten, 8 Bilder, 3 Tabellen, 3 Quellen
Conference paper
English
Dual Belt Pretension & its Potential for Occupant Protection in Frontal Impact
British Library Conference Proceedings | 2002
|Dual belt pretention and its potential for occupant protection in frontal impact
Automotive engineering | 2002
|Occupant protection in frontal impacts
Automotive engineering | 1979
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