Abstract
Nowadays, Child Restraint Systems (CRS) are tested with the ECE R44/04 protocol to be homologated and with the Euro NCAP protocol in consumer tests. The highest acceleration values in these tests which appear in front impacts are usually produced by contacts between the dummy and the body of the car but they can be also produced by a high force transmitted by the CRS harness and the restraint system of the child.
Several possibilities to reduce these values have been analyzed in this project taking into account a P3 dummy and the Isofix® system with the Toptether® installed. The final solution implemented is a textile load limiter installed in the top points of the own 5 points harness of the CRS. The load limiter designed has been tested with static traction tests, to compare the breaking process and the energy absorption process, and a microscopic analyse has been done to study the fibbers behaviour while breaking of each possibility taking into account while designing the system.
Finally, to validate the system, some dynamic tests have been done to tests the load limiter installed in the CRS and the fulfilling of the requirements of the design. The most important advantage of the system is the reduction of the time where the child experiments a high acceleration, with non uppering the head excursion values indicated in the ECE R44/04.
Keywords: Load limiter, Child Restraint System, Front crash