Seatback Rotational Control Reduces Whiplash Injury Potential: A Preliminary Computational Study

Passive mechanical systems have been used in automotive seat design to reduce whiplash injuries, but these designs can only be optimized for a small range of occupant mass and impact severity. The overall goal of this work is to develop an actively controlled car seat that can reduce injurious kinematics during a rear impact for a large range of occupant mass and impact severity. In this study, feed-forward control of the seatback rotation was simulated to quantify the potential reduction in occupant kinematics that could be achieved with an active feedback controlled seat. These simulations consisted of a finite element model of a simplified automotive seat and a Hybrid III crash test dummy. Seatback rotation as a function of time was parameterized and then optimized to reduce the T1 acceleration of the dummy. Separate optimizations were performed for impact severities of 8, 12, and 16 km/h. Compared to control conditions, the optimum seatback rotation profiles reduced peak T1 accelerations by approximately 58% for the three crash pulses.