Dynamic Analysis and Control of Automotive Occupant Restraint Systems

Although much progress has been made in developing seat belts and mandating their use, the injuries related to seat belts during frontal crashes are still widespread. This paper proposes an approach to control the seat belt restraint system force during a frontal crash to reduce thoracic injuries. A fuzzy logic controller based on moving the attachment point of the seat belt is proposed, and the simulation results with this controller are presented. Also, robustness to parameter variations is investigated. The results show that the proposed controller is very effective in reducing all critical values that lead to possible thoracic injuries during a frontal crash. The controller is also demonstrated to be robust with respect to varying impact conditions and parameters.

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