Final report of a non-deformable impactor into a 1990 Honda Civic 3-door hatchback in support of CRASH3 damage algorithm reformulation

Looker, K. W. · 1995 · ROSA P / United States. Department of Transportation. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

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Summary

This report details the results of four non-deformable impactor crash tests conducted on a 1990 Honda Civic 3-door hatchback. The primary objective was to generate data for research and development supporting the reformulation of the CRASH3 damage algorithm. The tests were performed by the Transportation Research Center Inc. under contract to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in May 1995. The experimental design involved impacting the left side of the vehicle with an FMVSS 214-type impactor featuring a non-deformable contoured face. The subject vehicle, weighing 989 kg, was instrumented with eleven accelerometers to measure X-, Y-, and Z-axis accelerations. The impactor, weighing 1,198 kg, was equipped with three accelerometers. The left edge of the impactor face was aligned 363 mm behind the vehicle’s front wheel centerline. Each event was recorded by three high-speed cameras operating at approximately 500 frames per second. Four tests were conducted at varying speeds: three at approximately 32 kph (Tests 950518-1, -2, and -3) and one at approximately 56.5 kph (Test 950518-4). The results demonstrated progressive vehicle deformation corresponding to impact velocity. In the three lower-speed tests, the maximum cumulative crush at the vehicle's maximum crush height ranged from 242 mm to 457 mm. The highest-speed test resulted in significantly greater deformation, with a maximum cumulative crush of 732 mm. The length of direct contact damage remained consistent at approximately 1,445–1,460 mm across all tests. Data acquisition anomalies were noted in several tests; specifically, subject vehicle data was not obtained for the highest-speed test due to potential damage to the data acquisition box, and harmonic ringing affected impactor acceleration data in tests 2, 3, and 4. Additionally, questionable Y-axis acceleration data from the vehicle's center of gravity affected computations in Test 3. These findings provide empirical crush and acceleration data necessary for refining the CRASH3 algorithm, which estimates crash severity based on vehicle damage. By documenting the relationship between impact speed, crush depth, and acceleration profiles for a specific vehicle model, this report supports the development of more accurate damage reconstruction methodologies for traffic safety analysis.

Key finding

Cumulative crush depth at maximum crush height increased from 242 mm at 32.5 kph to 732 mm at 56.5 kph in left-side impacts of a 1990 Honda Civic by a non-deformable impactor.

Methodology

lab_experiment

Sample size: 1

Provenance

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