ESI Group (ESIN FR0004110310), pioneer and world leading provider of digital simulation software, based on the physics of materials, today announced the release of Version 2.0 of BioRID-II (Biofidelic Rear Impact Dummy, model) for PAM-CRASH/PAM-SAFE 2G. This first industrial version of the newest BioRID-II dummy has an articulated thoracic/lumbar spine similar to the human one (24 vertebrae). The neck is maintained under pretension load via a muscle substitute consisting of a single damper mounted in parallel with a flexor and an extensor spring. The abdomen is filled with a water cavity and the torso texture is a soft silicon rubber.

“This FE dummy model brings a leading edge advantage in the design and optimisation of car seats to improve protection from whiplash injuries and therefore meet the challenge of the sixth star at EuroNCAP. By using BioRID-II dummy car manufacturers enhance seats frame structure so that they absorb more energy and reduce rebound effects which is decisive to assure the safety of the car occupants during a car crash” says Peter Ullrich, Crash Safety and Impact product Manager, ESI Group.

BioRID-II with PAM-CRASH/PAM-SAFE 2G makes it possible to simulate with accuracy the acceleration, force and the kinematics of a car occupant in order to minimize the whiplash injuries which occur during a rear crash: Whiplash hurls the head violently backward (hyperextension) and forward (hyperflexion)- The injury is even worse when the neck is turned to the side at the time of the accident.

Whiplash is the most common case of injuries in car crashes. 1 out of 7 whiplash victims will still suffer significant pain more than 3 years after the accident. These kind of injuries are therefore associated with serious medical consequences (they can affect intervertebral joints, discs, and ligaments, cervical muscles, and nerves) and significant societal costs. The resulted claims cost 500 million Euros per year for Germany (GDV, German Insurances Report, 2004/2005). Reduce these numbers is a challenge for all the engineers involve in improving the safety of the car occupants.

BioRID-II dummy model was validated on series of component tests over the torso, head, neck and spine assemblies and on sled tests. The sled tests were performed for 3 representative pulses on a test device with a deformable back rest calibrated to reproduce the behaviour of usual car seats. 

This FE-model was developed in a FAT (the German Association for Automotive Research) Project in cooperation with all the German car makers: Audi, BMW, DaimlerChrysler, Karmann, Opel, Porsche and Volkswagen, seat manufacturers: Hammerstein, Johnson Controls and Keiper and Denton COE: the manufacturer of the hardware Dummy.