CHILD INJURY TOLERANCE THROUGH CASE RECONSTRUCTION 2001-06-0026

A basis for verification of child dummy injury criteria performance limits, ICPLs, is needed. Presently, the ICPLs used for child dummies are derived from the Hybrid III adult dummies using scale factors for size and strength considerations. This study presents the preliminary results of an ongoing effort to verify the ICPLs through reconstructions of real world incidents which have resulted in child injuries.

Incident cases which have the potential for reconstruction were identified utilizing various sources. Tests were then conducted utilizing available case information in order to best approximate the pre-injury positioning of the injured child. A comparison of injury measurements collected from a child crash test dummy could then be made to real-life injuries as a method of ascertaining validity of current child dummy injury criteria.

Test results are presented for three case studies. This paper summarizes the results.