WHIPLASH II: Development of new design and test methods for whiplash protection in vehicle collisions

• Research unit: EU RFP
• Project number: 00.0629

Key words (English)

Biomechanics; accident; neck; whiplash; frontal; oblique; rebound; Environmental Protection; Safety; Transport

Alternative project number (English)

EU project number: G3RD-2000-00278

Research programs (English)

EU-programme: 5. Frame Research Programme - 1.3.3 Land transport and marine technologies

Short description (English)

See abstract

Further information (English)

Full name of research-institution/enterprise:
ETH Zürich / Universität Zürich
Institut für biomedizinische Technik
Arbeitsgruppe für Unfallmechanik

Partners and International Organizations (English)

Coordinator: TNO Crash Safety Centre, Delft (NL)

Abstract (English)

Yearly more than one million European citizens suffer neck injuries from car collisions. These injuries often give rise to long lasting consequences for the individuals. It is expected that whiplash injuries can be reduced significantly by improvements in vehicle design, in particular the seat/head restraint system and the restraint system. As a result of the 4th Framework WHIPLASH project, a test and design method for whiplash protection has been developed, however, this method considers the loading phase of rear-end collisions only. The technical and scientific objective of this new project is to develop evaluation and design methods to minimise the incidence and risk of neck injuries in all important accident conditions and to take the rebound phase of the loading phase also into account. Main innovations in this project include: - implementable design guidelines related to the seat/head restraint system and the restraint system for improved whiplash protection - test methods and a new crash dummy to assess the whiplash protection offered by a vehicle - computer models to support the industrial design process.

References in databases (English)

Swiss Database: Euro-DB of the
State Secretariat for Education and Research
Hallwylstrasse 4
CH-3003 Berne, Switzerland
Tel. [phone]
Swiss Project-Number: 00.0629