Assessing Rollover Protection Through the Deformable Occupant Compartment Impact Tester (DOCIT)

Abstract

Occupant kinematics during rollover or inverted impacts has been the subject of significant research. Controlled experiments have utilized complete vehicles, partial vehicles and seat/restraints systems attached to various platforms. Previous experiments, which included the element of a deforming roof, have required the destruction of a complete vehicle. The Deformable Occupant Compartment Impact Tester (DOCIT) was developed to incorporate functions similar to previously research devices, but has a roof capable of deforming under impact, which can be reset without the destruction of a vehicle. The DOCIT is designed to simulate an occupant compartment including a roof, seat, restraint system in which an Anthropometric Test Device (ATD) is placed and subjected to a repeatable inverted impact environment. Two test series are reviewed, in which baseline tests that based upon real-world rollover accidents are compared with alternate design systems under the same impact environments.