Modeling of The Side Impact Dummy (SID)

In October 1990, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) upgraded the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 214 by specifying a dynamic side impact requirement for passenger cars. This requirement uses the side impact dummy (SID), shown in Figure 1 , as the anthropomorphic test device (ATD) to simulate the impact response of the side struck human. To maintain and support the SID as a test device, NHTSA wanted a detailed finite element model that could be used to investigate the effects of changes in the ATD design or material properties on impact response.

A finite element model of the SID was developed at SRI and run with the DYNA3D finite element code and the INGRID preprocessor. The model includes the material and structural details of the SID that influence its performance in impact testing. The mesh used for the SID model, shown in Figure 2 , illustrates the detail included in the model. Various SID and ATD component calibration tests were simulated to evaluate the model performance. An example of a simulation with the SID model for the pendulum impact calibration test is shown in Figure 3 . The results of the simulation compared well with acceleration and displacement data from the impact calibration experiments. The calculated response of the SID and the internal thorax structures for the pendulum impact calibration test are shown in Movie 1 and Movie 2 respectively.

Figure 1 SID FEM Model Photograph of the SID in the Impact Calibration Facility
Figure 2 SID FEM Model DYNA3D Model of the SID: Model and Component Mesh

Figure 3 SID FEM Model SID Model Calculation: Impact Calibration Test

Movie 1 Side Impact Dummy (SID): Impact Calibration Simulation JPEG Quicktime Video (390 Kb)

Movie 2 Side Impact Dummy (SID): Internal Thorax Response JPEG Quicktime Video (605 Kb)

References

• S. W. Kirkpatrick, B. S. Holmes, T. C. Hollowell, C. Gabler, and T. Trella, "Finite Element Modeling of the Side Impact Dummy (SID)," in Human Surrogates: Design, Development, & Side Impact Protection, SAE Publications, SP-945 (presented at the 1993 International Congress and Exposition, March 1993, SAE Paper No. 930104).
   
• B.S. Holmes and S.W. Kirkpatrick, "Finite Element Model for the Side Impact Dummy (SID),", SRI Final Technical Report to PRC, Subcontract No. TSC-1, (Oct. 1992).

Contact Us
Don Shockey
Director, Center for Fracture Physics
Phone: 650-859-2587
Email: donald.shockey@sri.com