Abstract
This paper presents a new graphical method of representing vehicle crash test data, potentially as a quantitative evaluation tool and a qualitative visualisation tool. The dissipative spring relationships of vehicle crush are converted into novel spring limit curves concisely defining pseudo-harmonic motion for a vehicle in the spectrum of crashing velocities expected in a crash. The paper achieves the visualization by preserving the 1st and 4th quadrant of a two dimensional Cartesian plane for the kinematic entities in the transient domain, while dedicating the 2nd and 3rd quadrant to the spatial domain. The transfer of quantities from one domain to the other is by this method easily and manifestly demonstrated. Literature velocity-crush curves for various makes of vehicles are adapted to this format, highlighting the potential of the dual domain crash event representation and the dissipative spring limit curve as tools for quantitative crash evaluation.