United States Department of Transportation
i
Evaluation of Anthropomorphic Test Devices for Testing Aviation Seating Systems at 30° and 45° with Respect to the Aircraft Centerline
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2024-09-01
[PDF-2.71 MB]
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Abstract:The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has established test procedures and standards for evaluating forward-facing and side-facing seats. As transport category aircraft continue to evolve, airlines have proposed (and subsequently installed) oblique-facing seats, which are defined as 18°-80° with respect to the aircraft centerline. The currently available Anthropomorphic Test Devices (ATDs) are designed to be loaded either in the frontal or lateral direction, and their ability to measure injury criteria in an oblique-facing environment is unknown. The FAA Civil Aerospace Medical Institute evaluated four ATDs to determine their ability to accurately measure injury risk for oblique-facing seats. The ATDs evaluated were the Hybrid II, FAA-Hybrid III, ES-2re, and THOR-NT. The testing involved both static and dynamic evaluations. The ES-2re and THOR-NT were eliminated after the static evaluation due to concerns regarding structural or hardware failures that could occur due to the high forward flail expected in dynamic tests. The Hybrid II and FAA-Hybrid III were determined to be structurally robust enough to withstand testing, but only the FAA-Hybrid III had the required instrumentation to fully evaluate the injury risk. Dynamic testing was performed with both ATDs. A total of seventeen tests were run, three with the Hybrid II and fourteen with the FAA Hybrid III. The testing variables included different combinations of two configurations (a seat with a half wall to simulate an interior feature and a seat with no wall), two angles (30° and 45°), and three belt systems (lap belt-only, shoulder belt, and lap belt inflatable restraint). Lap belt-only tests produced injury measures exceeding the limits for both the lumbar spine and neck. Tests with a shoulder belt did not exceed the lumbar spine limits. Tests with the lap belt inflatable restraint produced results near the newly proposed combination of the lumbar spine tension, flexion moment, and lateral bending moment. The FAA Hybrid III was the only ATD evaluated that could perform in the oblique-facing environment (up to 45°) and is recommended for use in horizontal certification testing.
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