Product category:
Materials and components
News Release from: Sabic Innovative Plastics | Subject: Xenoy resin
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 11 April 2005
Novel resin absorbs front-end impact
New pedestrian impact protection materials and design innovations aim to help automotive manufacturers and tier suppliers with the design of front-end safety systems.
GE Advanced Materials, Automotive has developed new pedestrian impact protection materials and design innovations to help automotive manufacturers and tier suppliers with the design of front-end safety systems In GE's new, front-end safety concept, energy absorbers moulded from the company's Xenoy resin are positioned directly behind the vehicle's fascia to help cushion possible impact
This article was originally published on Engineeringtalk on 26 Feb 2004 at 8.00am (UK)
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GE has developed the concept to help meet European Union (EU) pedestrian protection legislation due to come into effect in 2005.
The latest accident statistics show that each year in the EU an estimated 7000 pedestrians are killed and several hundred thousand injured as a result of vehicle front-end impact.
This has led the European Enhanced Vehicle Safety Committee (EEVC) to develop legislation to provide greater protection to pedestrians involved in automotive accidents.
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Other countries, including Japan, are considering similar legislation.
Although there is no similar legislation in the USA, vehicles designed and exported across the globe will need to meet EU legislation.
The EEVC will require the automotive industry to test and monitor new vehicles to assess their pedestrian protection performance in 40km/h impacts.
Research shows that there are three main areas of the pedestrian's body most subject to injury from a moving vehicle: the head, pelvis and upper leg, and the knee and lower leg.
These injuries are associated directly with specific areas of the car.
Head injuries usually result from contact with the hood top and A-pillars; pelvis and upper leg injuries from impact with bonnet top and bumper; and knee and lower leg damage generally results from contact with the bumper.
The European New Car Assessment Programme (EuroNCAP) has conducted a series of tests in accordance with EEVC guidelines and found that most mainstream cars manufactured in the USA, Europe, and the Pacific, which are available in Europe, fail to adequately meet the criteria.
Tests conducted by the GE Advanced Materials engineering team have demonstrated that the front-end safety energy absorbers, moulded from Xenoy resin, have the ability to manage energy sufficiently below the limits proposed by the EEVC, to help reduce deceleration, bending, and shear of the lower leg.
The Xenoy resin-based energy absorber in GE's pedestrian impact protection concept also helped to contribute to sleeker styling, weight reduction, and potentially lower vehicle costs.
It provided for easy assembly and, with technical support from GE Advanced Materials' team of automotive specialists, helped shorten development time.
Moreover, GE Advanced Material's global presence enables it to meet material availability and delivery continuity to satisfy a demanding manufacturing schedule.
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