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NHTSA issued the FMVSS 226 ruling in 2011. It established test procedures to evaluate countermeasures that can minimize the likelihood of a complete or partial ejection of vehicle occupants through the side windows during rollover or side impact events. One of the countermeasures that may be used for compliance of this safety ruling is the Side Airbag Inflatable Curtain (SABIC). This paper discusses how three key phases of the optimization strategy in the Design for Six Sigma (DFSS), namely, Identify; Optimize and Verify (I_OV), were implemented in CAE to develop an optimized concept SABIC with respect to the FMVSS 226 test requirements. The simulated SABIC is intended for a generic SUV and potentially also for a generic Truck type vehicle. The improved performance included: minimization of the test results variability and the optimization of the ejection mitigation performance of the SABIC.

This paper discusses steps for identifying, evaluating and recommending a quantifiable design metric or metrics for Side Airbag (SAB) development. Three functionally related and desirable attributes of a SAB are assumed at the onset, namely, effective SAB coverage, load distribution and efficient energy management at a controlled force level. The third attribute however contradicts the “banana shaped” force-displacement response that characterizes the ineffective energy management reality of most production SAB. In this study, an estimated ATD to SAB interaction energy is used to size and recommend desired force-deformation characteristic of a robust energy management SAB. The study was conducted in the following three phases and corresponding objectives: Phase 1 is a SAB assessment metric identification and estimation, using a uniform block attached to a horizontal impact machine.