OVERVIEW

Industry need for a Crash Dynamics Laboratory is one of the reasons NIAR is in existence. The Federal Aviation Administration began requiring certification of airplane seats in the late 1980s. This meant Boeing, Raytheon and Cessna needed an independent facility where they could conduct secure, proprietary testing.

Over the years, the Crash Dynamics Lab at NIAR has maintained itself as a premier dynamic testing facility for the nation’s aircraft and aircraft component manufacturers. Its long-term goal is to have all U.S. aircraft seat manufacturers utilizing the lab. The lab is currently the primary test facility for B/E Aerospace Inc.

The lab recently underwent a $3 million modernization, completed in January 2005. The upgrade included installation of a new MTS Systems Inc. accelerator sled, a 1,000 square foot client work/office space and two technical support rooms. The lab's 14-year-old photographic lighting system was also replaced by a new state-of-the-art system.

MTS Systems of Minneapolis provided the new horizontal crash system. The system is an acceleration crash sled. This system allows the impact to take place first and uses the sled to decelerate to a safe level of speed.

Also included in the upgrade was a new camera system, which replaced the old Kodak camera, The new Visario Speed Cameras can take 1,000 frames per second in high-resolution (1536x1024) color and more than 10,000 fps at reduced resolution. The new cameras can be placed on the sled, providing the Crash Dynamics Lab with numerous camera angle options that had previously been unavailable to them.

The lab has a total of 17 crash test dummies, with the recent addition of a fifth percentile female, 12-month-old, three-year-old and six-year-old. All of the dummies are equipped with the necessary regulatory instrumentation.