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A cooperative project between the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Civil Aeromedical Institute (CAMI), Applied Safety Technologies Corp. (ASTC), and Robert A. Denton, Inc. was conducted to investigate modifications to the standard Hybrid III anthropomorphic test dummy (ATD) lumbar spine and its interface to the pelvis and thorax. The impetus for this project was based on the desires of aviation researchers, manufacturers, and dynamic test laboratories to utilize the Hybrid III ATD in the development and certification of aircraft seats. The goal was to develop a lumbar spine modification for the Hybrid III that would produce similar responses to those measured with a Hybrid II. The primary focus of this project was the compressive force measured at the base of the lumbar column during the vertical test condition required by FAA’s regulations.

The instrumented ball impact test procedure, defined in Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Advisory Circular (AC) 25-17, is one of the means of compliance with requirements for head impact protection for structures in aircraft interiors. A series of tests was performed based on this procedure, using a 13 lb. and a 16 lb. bowling ball instrumented to measure impact accelerations. Drop tests with the ball were conducted on various materials, including Ensolite and rigid foam pads. The results of the instrumented ball tests were compared with head impact results on the same pad materials in sled tests using an anthropomorphic test dummy (ATD). A comparison of the instrumented ball pass/fail criteria of AC 25-17 and the contemporary Head Injury Criteria (HIC) from ATD head impacts is presented.

The dynamic impact test of a section of passenger airplane fuselage provided an opportunity to measure the loads transferred to an airplane floor by the passenger seat legs. Since placement of a force transducer between the seat legs and the aircraft floor could not be done without adversely affecting the validity of the measurements, it was necessary to develop an alternative instrumentation technique. The method chosen was to install strain gages on the legs of the seats and to calibrate the strain gage output in terms of forces transmitted to the floor of a rigid test fixture during sled tests of each seat. The instrumentation methods, the acquired data, and an analysis of the results of the calibration procedure are presented in this paper.

Recent amendments to the Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR) increase the requirements for installation and utilization of shoulder harnesses in small airplanes which are certificated in the normal, utility, or aerobatic category. Static testing of a combined lap belt and shoulder harness in a manner which produces a predictable load distribution to the anchorage points can be difficult. A series of tests were performed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Civil Aeromedical Institute (CAMI) to evaluate static test procedures for restraint anchorages on small airplane forward facing seats that have a lap belt and shoulder harness anchored to the airframe.