1、Developments in Modern Racecar Driver Crash Protection and Safety Engineering Beyond Performance 01-Front_matter.indd 1 8/29/13 12:49 PMOther SAE books of interest: Lumbar Injury Biomechanics By Jeffrey A. Pike (Product Code: PT-153) Vehicle Accident Analysis and Reconstruction Methods, Second Editi
2、on By Raymond M. Brach and Matthew Brach (Product Code: R-397) Occupant Protection and Automobile Safety in the U.S. since 1900 By Roger F. Wells (Product Code: PT-404) For more information or to order a book, contact: SAE International 400 Commonwealth Drive Warrendale, PA 15096-0001 USA Phone: 877
3、-606-7323 (U.S. and Canada only) or 724-776-4970 (outside U.S. and Canada) Fax: 724-776-0790; Email: CustomerServicesae.org; Website: books.sae.org 01-Front_matter.indd 2 8/29/13 12:49 PMDevelopments in Modern Racecar Driver Crash Protection and Safety Engineering Beyond Performance Edited by John W
4、. Melvin and J. Kirk Russell Warrendale, Pennsylvania, USA 01-Front_matter.indd 3 8/29/13 12:49 PM Copyright 2014 SAE International eISBN: 978-0-7680-8056-8Copyright 2014 SAE International. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, distributed,
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6、7680-8026-1 Library of Congress Catalog Number 2013946186 SAE Order Number PT-160 DOI 10.4271/PT-160 Information contained in this work has been obtained by SAE International from sources believed to be reliable. However, neither SAE International nor its authors guarantee the accuracy or completene
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10、49 PMDedication This compendium is dedicated to four individuals who were instrumental in the creation, development, and implementation of racing safety research: Gary Dickinson (19382000) John Pierce (19362009) Steve Peterson (19502008) Sid Watkins (19282012) 01-Front_matter.indd 5 8/29/13 12:49 PM
11、01-Front_matter.indd 6 8/29/13 12:49 PMvii Table of Contents Acknowledgments ix Introduction 1 Technical Papers 5 Biomechanical Performance of a New Head and Neck Support (902312) Hubbard, R. P . and Begeman, P . C. 5 Racing Car Restraint System Frontal Crash Performance Testing (942482) Melvin, J.
12、W., Little, W. C., et al. 15 Development of the HANS Head and Neck Support for Formula One (983060) Gramling, H., Hodgman, P ., and Hubbard, R. 23 Biomechanical Analysis of Indy Race Car Crashes (983161) Melvin, J. W., Baron, K. J., et al. 29 Barrier Testing (983061) Wright, P ., and Mellor, A. 49 D
13、evelopment and Field Performance of Indy Race Car Head Impact Padding (2001-22-0019) Melvin, J. W., Bock, H., et al. 61 Sled Test Evaluation of Racecar Head/Neck Restraints Revisited (2004-01-3516) Melvin, J. W., Begeman, P . C., and Foster, C. D. 83 Biomechanical Principles of Racecar Seat Design f
14、or Side Impact Protection (2004-01-3515) Melvin, J. W., and Gideon, T. W. 97 Race Car Nets for the Control of Neck Forces in Side Impacts (2004-01-3513) Gideon, T. W., Melvin, J., and Begeman, P . 107 Initial In-Service Performance Evaluation of the SAFER Racetrack Barrier (2004-01-3526) Bielenberg,
15、 R., Faller, R., et al. 117 Crash Protection of Stock Car Racing Drivers Application of Biomechanical Analysis of Indy Car Crash Research (2006-22-0016) Melvin, J. W., Begeman, P . C., et al. 129 01-Front_matter.indd 7 8/29/13 12:49 PMviii Stock Car Racing Driver Restraint Development and Implementa
16、tion of Seat Performance Specification (2008-01-2974) Patalak, J. P ., and Melvin, J. W. 143 Examination of a Properly Restrained Motorsport Occupant (2013-01-0804) Patalak, J. P ., Gideon, T. W., and Melvin, J. W. 151 About the Editors 169 01-Front_matter.indd 8 8/29/13 12:49 PMix Acknowledgments M
17、uch of the work presented in this compendium is the result of significant support of those conducting the research by a number of individuals and their organizations. We would like to acknowledge the following individuals and their organizations. Gary Dickinson, GM vice president of Technical Staffs
18、, who, in 1992, recognized the need for better driver protection and had the insight to involve both GM Motorsports and GM Research Laboratories in a multidisciplinary approach to the problem. Herb Fishel, director of GM Motorsports (retired), who provided manpower and support for racing safety rese
19、arch while at GM and continues to be a strong advocate for driver safety. John Pierce, GM Motorsports, whose insights into the inner workings of motorsports and his knowledge of the best way to proceed allowed researchers to interface smoothly and successfully with racers and their teams. Jim Hall,
20、Chaparral Cars, who provided his state-of-the-art racecars for the fitting and evaluation of the first accident data recorders (ADRs) used in motorsports competition. His patience, understanding, and support were instrumental in the research that provided the basis for the current use of ADRs in rac
21、ecars. Steve Peterson, NASCAR R thus, the safety improvement was also a potential performance enhancement. For many years, the evolution of safety improvements in motorsports was the result of a combination of science and perceived safe practices. Performance-enhancing components such as wider tires
22、 and aerodynamic designs to increase vehicle cornering speeds were, in the past, promoted as “safety devices.” Safety proponents and their efforts were often ignored. There were many good proposals mixed among just as many unproven and sometimes dangerous ideas. Most safety developments were not bas
23、ed on rigorous laboratory testing, but rather on intuition and a “lets try it and see what happens” approach. Fortunately, during the last few decades motorsports has benefited from the organized research efforts made possible by academia, manufacturers, and sanctioning bodies, leading to present-da
24、y motorsports safety methodologies based on solid data and test evaluations. This compendium comprises selected technical papers that document the development and implementation of key motorsports safety technologies now in use. For the past 50 years, racing drivers in any type of racing car have us
25、ed a seat, a helmet, and some form of body restraint (lap belts or shoulder and lap belts) when competing on a racing track. Head protection was the first issue in motorsports safety to receive rigorous scientific attention with the establishment of the Snell Memorial Foundation in 1957 and the intr
26、oduction of improved helmets in 1958 (Newman, J. A., 2007, Modern Sports Helmets, Their History, Science and Art, Schiffer Publishing Ltd.). Restraint belt use was sometimes optional, and, in some cases, intentionally not used where the structure of the racecar was judged, by the driver, to be not p
27、rotective and potentially dangerous in a crash. The drivers of such cars wanted to be thrown clear of the car in a crash, thereby (hopefully) avoiding injuries from the collapse of the car structure or from the frequent occurrence of fire. As racing car structures became stronger and more protective
28、 and fire protection became effective through the introduction of fuel cells and fire-resistant driver uniforms, staying with the car through the use of multipoint restraint belts became common. These belt restraint systems were copied from military airplane pilot restraint 01-Front_matter.indd 1 8/
29、29/13 12:49 PM2 belt systems directly, with no racecar-specific testing. The seat, however, was not viewed as part of the protection system, but, rather, as a comfort and body stability system while driving the car. The automotive industry has incorporated crash testing with instrumented test maniki
30、ns to aid in the development of passenger car occupant safety features for over 40 years. This technology was not used in motorsports safety until 1990 when the first development sled tests of the forerunner of todays HANS head and neck restraint system were conducted at Wayne State University and p
31、resented at the Stapp Car Crash Conference (Hubbard and Begeman 1990). Organized and comprehensive engineering research on racing car safety in general began in 1992, with the initiation of the General Motors Motorsports Safety Technology Research Program (GM MSTRP) to study leg injuries in Indy car
32、s. The carbon fiber/ aluminum composite chassis in those cars had proven to be quite protective since its introduction in the 1980s. The exception was in frontal crashes, where the nose structures of the cars, limited by design rules to not produce over 20 g deceleration in a nosecone test, were col
33、lapsing into the feet and lower legs of drivers. GM MSTRP analysis of two similar frontal crashes at the Indy 500 in 1992 indicated an average deceleration level of 55 g (obtained from motion analysis of the crash videos), with the resulting injuries to the two drivers limited to the lower legs due
34、to crush of the nosecones and front of the chassis. Since no internal organ injuries were indicated in those crashes, it was decided, by the Indy car sanctioning body (CART), in 1993, to raise the nosecone test deceleration limit to 40 g and lengthen the chassis to put the drivers feet behind the ce
35、nterline of the front wheels. Since their implementation, these changes eliminated those types of lower leg injuries in Indy cars. It would seem that the goal for the GM MSTRP had been met in its first year. However, the remarkably high average deceleration in those two crashes led GM, in 1993, to i
36、ntroduce crash recorders in Indy cars with the goal of measuring the peak deceleration and its time history in these crashes. 1994 saw the initiation of the SAE Motorsports Engineering Conferences (MSEC). These conferences provide a platform for the presentation and discussion of developments in rac
37、ecar engineering and, particularly, in racing safety. The first independent comprehensive series of frontal crash test simulations of crash recorder-based racecar crashes was presented in 1994 (Melvin et al. 1994). This work demonstrated the protective nature of the six-point belt systems used in In
38、dy cars, indicated the need for additional protection for neck injury protection, and reported the first independent evaluation of the potential effectiveness of the HANS concept in reducing neck injury risk in racecar frontal crashes. The studies by the GM MSTRP established the validity and importa
39、nce of appropriate laboratory testing of racecar driver protection systems, before asking a driver to use the system in a real crash. The data obtained by the GM MSTRP from over 600 crash recordings over five years and crash sled testing at GM based on the recorded data, led to a new understanding o
40、f human crash injury and survival in severe crashes (Melvin et al. 1998). The research, presented at the Stapp Car Crash Conference, indicated that a properly restrained and 01-Front_matter.indd 2 8/29/13 12:49 PM3 seated racecar driver could survive a crash level of up to 100 g, without serious inj
41、ury, in frontal, side, and rear crashes, when adequate survival space is maintained for the driver. Features found to be critical to this level of protection include a strong seat with lateral head, shoulder, and pelvis support (in Indy cars the seat is the chassis tub with some padding); and six-po
42、int restraint belts (not the five-point restraint belts common in most other forms of motorsports). The introduction and evaluation of the concept of the HANS device in its present-day form was presented at MSEC in 1998 (Gramling et al. 1998). This device was the first truly new concept in racecar d
43、river safety in decades, and it addressed a particular form of fatal injury, basilar skull fractures, that had been a common, yet relatively unnoticed, source of fatal injury in belt-restrained racecar drivers for many years. Also at MSEC in 1998, research on track safety, a necessary and significan
44、t component of driver crash safety, was presented in the form of realistic testing of track barrier systems (Wright and Mellor 1998). In 2001, work on the development of head impact padding for Indy car cockpit surrounds was presented at the Stapp Car Crash Conference (Melvin et al. 2001). This work
45、 was directed at improving head impact protection specifically for Indy cars, but due to its success, the test procedures and performance criteria for the padding were adopted by the SFI Foundation () for its SFI Specification 45.2, Impact Padding for flat head padding in all racecars. As interest i
46、n head and neck restraint systems grew and many new concepts, in addition to the HANS, were introduced, independent sled testing of many of the devices was presented at MSEC in 2004 (Melvin et al. 2004). As with the head impact padding research, this study helped to define sled test procedures adopt
47、ed by the SFI Foundation as SFI Specification 38.1 Head and Neck Restraint Systems. As discussed, the seat in racing was viewed as something for comfort and body stability while driving a racecar. The research findings from studying Indy car crashes with crash recorders and documenting the great suc
48、cess Indy cars demonstrated in violent side impacts (up to 120 g) led to the realization that lateral body support was critical to side impact protection. At the 2004 MSEC, these principles were defined as lateral strength recommendations for any stand-alone racing seat typically used in most racecars (Melvin and Gideon 2004). A companion paper (Gideon and Melvin 2004) introduced the concept of lateral nets for a
