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September 14, 2005
Plastics offer Automotive
energy absorbing systems for pedestrian safety
Seattle, WA, USA--(Jobwerx News)--Plastics offer energy absorbing systems
for pedestrian impact safety that will help automotive manufacturers and
suppliers better meet new regulatory obligations.
GE's Automotive business will help automotive manufacturers and suppliers
validate new material technologies for front-end safety systems to help
better meet new regulatory obligations around pedestrian safety with the
installation of a new Pedestrian Impact Test System in its Moka Technology
Center in Moka City, Tochigi, Japan
GE expects its upgraded test capabilities to help accelerate the development
of thermoplastic energy absorber systems, particularly in vehicle components
such as bumper beams, fenders, hoods, grilles, garnishes, and wiper systems.
This new testing facility compliments the investment GE has already made
in developing and validating proprietary computer analysis techniques
to predict pedestrian impact performance of vehicles.
GE recently upgraded its full-scale automotive impact test equipment at
the Moka Technology Center to improve the speed and scope of its analytical
capabilities in this field. Among the improvements was the addition of
pedestrian impact test capabilities to the existing system for bumper
impact analysis. The center now can test vehicle pedestrian head and leg
impacts, in addition to performing pendulum tests; barrier tests for both
the Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) and Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standards (FMVSS) regulations; and pole and angle barrier tests for the
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). The center also has the
capability to test vehicle interior head form impact tests and knee protector
impact tests.
Every year, vehicle front-end impacts in the European Union kill an estimated
7,000 pedestrians and injure several hundred thousand more. This has led
the European Enhanced Vehicle Safety Committee (EEVC) to develop legislation
requiring the automotive industry to test and monitor new vehicles to
assess their pedestrian protection performance relating to head impacts
and lower leg impacts. The regulations will become effective in October
2005 in Europe.
Similarly, in Japan the Japan New Car Assessment Program (J-NCAP) has
developed legislation for head impacts that will become effective in September
2005. J-NCAP is developing different types of lower leg legislation that
will be effective in 2010. Other countries are considering similar legislation.
In the meantime, vehicles designed and exported to Europe and Japan will
need to comply with the local pedestrian protection regulations.
GE's expanded pedestrian impact capabilities enable head impact tests
with child and adult head forms according to J-NCAP regulations, and lower-leg
impact tests according to EEVC WG 17 regulations, which are expected to
go into effect later this year in Europe. Impact velocities up to 45km/h
can be achieved with the high-pressure nitrogen gas/hydraulic system that
was constructed by S-Tech Inc. in Saitama, Japan. S-Tech has supplied
the head forms and TRL of Wokingham, United Kingdom, has supplied the
lower-leg forms.
GE has invested approximately $250,000 (US$) in pedestrian impact safety
testing at the center in the following areas:
· Modifications to the center's bumper impact testing machine to allow
pedestrian impact tests to be carried out;
· Upgrades to the control and data-logging software, which operates the
testing machine, collects the test data, and provides reporting and data-management
functions;
· Installation of a new high-speed digital video system for recording
each impact test in real-time; · Training of engineers and operators;
· Consumables (various parts of the head-forms and leg-forms that must
be replaced or calibrated following each test); and
· Government safety certification of the center's high-pressure gas energy
storage system for testing.
Testing equipment will assist the development of new energy absorption
technologies for vehicle OEMs by validating computer-designed energy absorption
features with real-life impact tests. These energy absorption features
will be used in bumpers, front-end body panels, and other front-end components.
Several OEMs already have this capability; however, their machines are
fully utilized conducting pedestrian impact tests of production cars with
current energy absorption technologies.
GE estimates that the actual time to develop a new energy absorber system
is between three and six months. This includes engineering design, computer-simulation
of the new design, and prototype manufacture followed by testing of the
actual parts. The timing for new impact systems to appear on consumer
vehicles depends on the plans of individual OEMs. However new legislation
in Japan and Europe is driving OEMs to speed up their developments in
this area.
Due to their unique properties, engineered thermoplastics can be designed
into shapes that will absorb energy in a very efficient manner. This means
that a smaller space is required to absorb a set amount of energy vs.
traditional energy absorbing technology. Since modern vehicle styling
is trending towards offering less “package space” for energy absorbing
systems, thermoplastic materials offer a unique advantage in this area.
Plastics also offer lower weight compared to steel systems.
“Our new capabilities will allow GE Advanced Materials to accelerate the
use of thermoplastic energy absorber systems for pedestrian impact safety
by supporting OEM developments in this area,” said Takaaki Nemoto, global
application technology, design, and engineering leader, GE Advanced Materials.
“Since the OEM testing capabilities are fully utilized with new vehicle
testing, GE Advanced Materials can now offer expanded expertise in the
testing and development of new systems to help meet emerging global requirements.”
GE Advanced Materials is a world leader in providing high-technology material
solutions. Headquartered in Pittsfield, Mass., its businesses include
Plastics, Silicones, Quartz, Automotive, Specialty Film & Sheet, Polymershapes,
and Sealants and Adhesives.
Automotive OEMs using GE materials to develop new energy absorption systems
can use the GE facility at no charge. Interested companies should contact
Hideyuki Itoi, part performance manager, Pacific, GE Advanced Materials
at Tel: 81-285-80-2304; E-Mail: hideyuki.itoi@ge.com
Photos courtesy of GE Plastics.
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