Technical Paper
Potential Effects of Friction on Injury Measures Computed in Aircraft Seat HIC Analysis Testing
2017-09-19
2017-01-2054
Aircraft seating systems are evaluated utilizing a variety of impact conditions and select injury measures. Injury measures like the Head Injury Criterion (HIC) are evaluated under standardized conditions using anthropomorphic test devices such as those outlined in 14 CFR part 25. An example test involves decelerating one or more rows of seats and allowing a lap-belted ATD to engage components in front of it, which typically include the seatback and its integrated features. Examples of head contact surfaces include video monitors, various plastic and composite fascia, and a wide range of seat back materials. The HIC, and other injury measures such as Nij, can be calculated during such impacts. It has been shown in other safety applications that the friction between a headform and contact surface can affect the test results.