Analysis of Whiplash during rear crash and development of an anti-whiplash seat mechanism

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Tezin Türü: Doktora

Tezin Yürütüldüğü Kurum: Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi, Mühendislik Fakültesi, Makina Mühendisliği Bölümü, Türkiye

Tezin Onay Tarihi: 2013

Tezin Dili: İngilizce

Öğrenci: MUSTAFA ÖZDEMİR

Asıl Danışman (Eş Danışmanlı Tezler İçin): Sitki Kemal Ider

Eş Danışman: Mustafa Ilhan Gökler

Özet:

Whiplash injury is one of the most important types of injuries when its resulting longterm pain is considered. This neck injury is frequently seen in the motor vehicle collisions, especially in the low-speed rear collisions. In this thesis, it is aimed to analyze the whiplash syndrome in low-speed rear-end impacts and develop an antiwhiplash seat mechanism that reduces the risk of occurrence of whiplash injuries. Firstly, using the commercially available finite element model of the BioRID II dummy, backset reducing and slidable seat design concepts have been analyzed. Based on the strategy of moving the head restraint forward during a rear crash in order to reduce the backset, two novel seat mechanisms have been developed. One of these is an anti-whiplash system having a lock unit, and the other is a quick forward antiwhiplash seat mechanism. Three identical prototype seats have been produced for the quick forward anti-whiplash mechanism and tested by sled tests that have been performed at the Vehicle Safety Unit of the METU-BILTIR Center according to the Euro NCAP whiplash testing procedure using BioRID II dummy. For comparative purposes, three identical standard seats that do not have any anti-whiplash action, and three identical anti-whiplash seats with a different headrest moving mechanism have been also tested using the same procedure. The test results have been assessed according to the Euro NCAP and RCAR-IIWPG rating systems, and the seat with the developed quick forward anti-whiplash mechanism has been shown to be effective for reducing the risk of whiplash injury.