Comparison between Hybrid III ATD and its numeric model in off-design conditions

The faithfulness of the numeric models of Anthropomorphic Test Devices (ATDs) to their real counterparts is generally qualified only for the specific situations the ATD is intended to study. In this work, off-design test were carried out on a Hybrid III ATD and reproduced with MADYMO software, using an ATD model provided together with the software. Experimental data and simulation results were compared to gather information about the correspondence between the real device and its numeric model. Such a correspondence proved itself as good as far as the kinematics of the impacts is concerned. Looking at the acceleration and stress values instead, real and numeric data generally show the same qualitative behaviour but the numeric stresses reach higher magnitudes and their oscillation extend for a longer time after the impact. The ATD model is therefore useful in qualitative studies and comparisons but it cannot be considered as reliable for quantitative predictions.