Evaluation of a Head Injury Criteria Component Test Device

Abstract

Aircraft seats that are certified to meet the requirements of 14 CFR Parts 23.562, 25.562, 27.562 and 29.562 must protect the occupant from serious head injury as defined by the Head Injury Criterion (HIC). Currently this is demonstrated during a dynamic sled test that includes a 50% male-size test dummy, the seat, and any surrounding aircraft structure that could be impacted by the occupant's head. To reduce cost and expedite design and certification, a means of demonstrating compliance using a component-level test was desired. A project to develop a component test method was initiated by the FAA Technical Center's Materials and Structures Branch, under contract to the National Institute for Aviation Research (NAIR) at Wichita State University (WSU). This effort resulted in the development of the HIC Component Test Device (HCTD) as described in FAA report DOT/FAA/AR-02-99. The HCTD consisted of a test dummy head attached to a pivoted arm that is propelled in an arc by an air actuator. The device was transferred to CAMI in Dec. 2002 for evaluation and further development.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Nov 01, 2004
Accession Number
ADA428692

Entities

People

  • David M. Moorcroft
  • Richard L. Deweese

Organizations

  • Federal Aviation Administration

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Biomedical
  • Engineered Resilient Systems
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aircrafts
  • Boundaries
  • Composite Materials
  • Computer Simulations
  • Data Acquisition
  • Dielectric Polymers
  • Fiberglass
  • Head Injuries
  • Impact Tests
  • Materials
  • Measurement
  • Simulations
  • Sled Tests
  • Test And Evaluation
  • Test Methods
  • Transport Aircraft
  • United States Government

Readers

  • Aviation Safety and Air Traffic Management
  • Explosive Engineering.
  • Software Engineering