NHTSA, EASi, and Johnson Work Together to Develop Advanced Safety Seat
21 June 2000
NHTSA, EASi Engineering and Johnson Controls Work Together to Develop Advanced, Belt-integrated Safety Seat for Vehicles
PLYMOUTH, Mich. - EASi Engineering and Plymouth, Michigan-based Johnson
Controls are developing computer-aided engineering (CAE) methods that will
assist in developing occupant protection in front, rear and side impacts and
roll-over crashes. The model was used to evaluate various concepts incorporated
into an Advanced Integrated Structural Seat (AISS) design including one intended
to increase resistance to passenger compartment intrusion in accident situations.
The two companies are working on the project under the direction of the
U.S. National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA). A
cooperative effort between the government and industry, the project brings
together experts in the fields of impact biomechanics, computer-aided
engineering, and seat systems engineering and manufacturing.
NHTSA provides funds for the project, which began in 1994. EASi
Engineering is a product engineering firm involved in automotive, product and
computer-aided engineering. Johnson Controls is a leading automotive interior
supplier.
A key purpose of this collaborative effort is to validate CAE methods for
evaluating seat features in future cars and trucks.
The team assembled by EASi evaluated an AISS property that included a
feature to deform the seat back in a controlled manner in rear-end collisions.
The AISS also had a load limiter feature on the seat belt. Finally, it
included a side-impact feature intended to react structurally to an intruding
door and protect the head by reacting structurally to an intruding roof during
a roll-over accident.
The project is intended to provide tools, which assist in the evaluation
of the current Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards that apply to vehicle
seating systems.
EASi's work on this project has included project management and
development of a computer model using coupled DYNA3D and MADYMO rigid body
code that was validated using a front-impact sled test. The model is
configured for a generic vehicle environment with an existing Integrated
Structural Seat design.
"Through this partnership, we are striving to help NHTSA improve the
overall protection provided by vehicle seats, and to ensure that seat systems
are lightweight, comfortable and user-friendly," said Prakash Krishnaswamy,
president of EASi Engineering. "We believe that automakers and consumers will
experience significant benefits as a result of the methods developed in this
project."
Johnson Controls has provided design, advanced engineering support and
project coordination for the future vehicle seat concept. Engineering and
design personnel at the company's facilities have fabricated specialized
seating components, assembled metal structures and conducted dynamic crash
tests.
"We're involved in the partnership to learn, to add value to our interior
products, and to apply continuous improvement techniques to advanced seat
system designs," said Lou Kincaid group vice president of product and business
development for Johnson Controls.
NHTSA, established in 1966, is responsible for reducing deaths, injuries
and economic losses resulting from motor vehicle crashes. The regulatory
agency establishes and enforces safety performance standards for new motor
vehicles and related equipment and funds safety programs of state and local
governments. NHTSA also conducts research on driver behavior and traffic
safety to develop the most effective means of bringing about safety
improvements.
The Plymouth, Michigan (U.S.A.)-based automotive business of Johnson
Controls -- which employs more than 65,000 people at 275 facilities worldwide
-- achieved US$12.1 billion in sales for the 1999 fiscal year. In model-year
2000, it will supply interior products for more than 23 million vehicles.
Johnson Controls, Inc. is a global market leader in automotive systems and
facility management and control. In the automotive market, it is a major
supplier of seating and interior systems, and batteries.
EASi Engineering, with a staff of more than 300 professionals worldwide,
is one of the leading providers of integrated solutions for fast-to-market
product development. EASi's capabilities cover all aspects of computer-aided
design and engineering, including concept design and optimization, structural
crash simulation, occupant simulation, biomechanics, linear and non-linear
finite element analysis, kinematics, dynamics analysis and optimization as
well as software product and technology development.
