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Crashworthiness of Vehicles
Journal of Mechanical Working Technology, 2 (1978) 307--308 307 © Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company, Amsterdam -- Printed in The Netherlands
Book Review Crashworthiness o f Vehicles, by W. Johnson and A.G. Mamatis, published by Mechanical Engineering Publications Ltd., Bury St. Edmonds, U.K. (publishers to the Institution of Mechanical Engineers), approx. 128 pages, d e m y 8vo, softcover, £ 4.00 UK, $ 8.00 US, £ 7.00 elsewhere. Although crashing vehicles or studying the results of such crashes has much to appeal to the child in us, it can be carried out for a serious purpose. Maybe this interesting and enthusiastically written book somewhat misses this point, but it is a matter of layout and emphasis rather than of content. Crashes are studied either to prevent future crashes in similar circumstances or to reduce the risks of injury to those involved and it is to this latter aspect that this book is directed. Such a study should really start with a consideration of how in mechanical terms human beings are injured. This is an increasingly important part of biomechanics which is reviewed but not until half way through the book. Because at the end of the day a vehicle has to be tested for the acceptability of the protection it provides in crashes, it is becoming increasingly important to translate human injury criteria into equivalent loadings on anthropometric dummies, because it is the latter which are placed in vehicles under test, and not live human beings! The errors from using animals, cadavers and dummies to represent humans are now being realised and are a matter of great current concern. More emphasis on the whole sequence of crash studies from accident investigation to testing improved designs would bring the book right up to date and perhaps a second edition could well include these matters. A valuable feature of the book for the student is the way in which much original work has been incorporated into the text. It does show how many small contributions gradually build up a background of understanding of a subject such as this. It is perhaps strange that a number of British contributions have n o t been included. Grime's early report (Road Research Laboratory, LR 8 "Safety cars. Principles governing the design of cars and safety devices.") is an example of work of his team which placed the subject on a firm footing. The concept of breakaway lamp standards and other road furniture was developed and demonstrated at the then Road Research Laboratory (Road Research 1965--66, HMSO, 1967, pp. 58--61) and later taken up at Texas A and M University. The practical outworkings of many studies of car crashworthiness were presented in papers at the 5th Experimental Safety Vehicles Conference in London in June 1974 and the Leyland SRV Marina incorporated many developments only now coming to the fore. Practical insights are included in almost every page and the mention of crumple zones at the front and rears of cars is but one. This feature was, of course, an almost universal one for cars designed up to the 1950s. It was only then that weight saving in the structure led to weaker bodies and on occa-
308
sion their more general collapse at points further from the site of impact. This is n o t to say that cars of the 1950s were satisfactory from a crashworthiness point of view; they were not, b u t the failings were of detail design -t o o rigid interiors, non-collapsible steering columns, door latches that frequently released on impact and so on. Having made a study only of road vehicle impact, the chapters on railway rolling stock, ships and aircraft proved to be most fascinating introductions for the reviewer. They are n o t dealt with in any depth, b u t enable the general reader to grasp the basic dynamic features of crashes that captured the headlines when they occurred. This is altogether an enjoyable b o o k for those with a taste for the macabre b u t nevertheless, one which should whet the appetite for newcomers to this important subject. I.D. NEILSON
Book Review Crashworthiness o f Vehicles, by W. Johnson and A.G. Mamatis, published by Mechanical Engineering Publications Ltd., Bury St. Edmonds, U.K. (publishers to the Institution of Mechanical Engineers), approx. 128 pages, d e m y 8vo, softcover, £ 4.00 UK, $ 8.00 US, £ 7.00 elsewhere. Although crashing vehicles or studying the results of such crashes has much to appeal to the child in us, it can be carried out for a serious purpose. Maybe this interesting and enthusiastically written book somewhat misses this point, but it is a matter of layout and emphasis rather than of content. Crashes are studied either to prevent future crashes in similar circumstances or to reduce the risks of injury to those involved and it is to this latter aspect that this book is directed. Such a study should really start with a consideration of how in mechanical terms human beings are injured. This is an increasingly important part of biomechanics which is reviewed but not until half way through the book. Because at the end of the day a vehicle has to be tested for the acceptability of the protection it provides in crashes, it is becoming increasingly important to translate human injury criteria into equivalent loadings on anthropometric dummies, because it is the latter which are placed in vehicles under test, and not live human beings! The errors from using animals, cadavers and dummies to represent humans are now being realised and are a matter of great current concern. More emphasis on the whole sequence of crash studies from accident investigation to testing improved designs would bring the book right up to date and perhaps a second edition could well include these matters. A valuable feature of the book for the student is the way in which much original work has been incorporated into the text. It does show how many small contributions gradually build up a background of understanding of a subject such as this. It is perhaps strange that a number of British contributions have n o t been included. Grime's early report (Road Research Laboratory, LR 8 "Safety cars. Principles governing the design of cars and safety devices.") is an example of work of his team which placed the subject on a firm footing. The concept of breakaway lamp standards and other road furniture was developed and demonstrated at the then Road Research Laboratory (Road Research 1965--66, HMSO, 1967, pp. 58--61) and later taken up at Texas A and M University. The practical outworkings of many studies of car crashworthiness were presented in papers at the 5th Experimental Safety Vehicles Conference in London in June 1974 and the Leyland SRV Marina incorporated many developments only now coming to the fore. Practical insights are included in almost every page and the mention of crumple zones at the front and rears of cars is but one. This feature was, of course, an almost universal one for cars designed up to the 1950s. It was only then that weight saving in the structure led to weaker bodies and on occa-
308
sion their more general collapse at points further from the site of impact. This is n o t to say that cars of the 1950s were satisfactory from a crashworthiness point of view; they were not, b u t the failings were of detail design -t o o rigid interiors, non-collapsible steering columns, door latches that frequently released on impact and so on. Having made a study only of road vehicle impact, the chapters on railway rolling stock, ships and aircraft proved to be most fascinating introductions for the reviewer. They are n o t dealt with in any depth, b u t enable the general reader to grasp the basic dynamic features of crashes that captured the headlines when they occurred. This is altogether an enjoyable b o o k for those with a taste for the macabre b u t nevertheless, one which should whet the appetite for newcomers to this important subject. I.D. NEILSON