CRASH TEST DUMMY LOWER LEG INSTRUMENTATION FOR AXIAL FORCE AND BENDING MOMENT

Instrumented anthropomorphic dummy surrogates of the living human have been used in automobile occupant crash protection research and development programs for many years. The lower leg instrumentation described in this paper constitutes an advancement of the state of the art of dummy test technology in that it affords a more comprehensive study of crash victim leg loadings than possible using only the traditional femur (upper leg) axial force transducer. Each lower leg has been instrumented with five electrical resistance strain gage circuits to monitor orthogonal bending moments and axial force. Stress analysis and Wheatstone bridge theories are combined in the paper to define strain gage locations and predict transducer sensitivities. Transducer fabrication and calibration procedures are also discussed. For the covering abstract see IRRD 864472.