Potentiometers monitor crash test dummies.
TRL are using potentiometers supplied by
Variohm-Eurosensor to study what happens
to the driver and passengers travelling in a
vehicle when an accident occurs.
The tests, which they carry out, involve crashing a vehicle into a
fixed barrier and monitoring the effect on dummies placed inside
the vehicle. During the test lots of events happen in a very short time.
Some of these events can be monitored in slow motion using film
or video but many have to be measured and logged in real time
and that's where the potentiometers come in. The Dummies used
by TRL utilise the GL60 hollow shaft potentiometers from
Variohm-Eurosensor.
The hollow shaft design fits easily into the dummy's joint mechanism
and offers an immediate response performance, potentiometers
are real time devices - they see events and measure them without
any time lag or sampling delay. Adjustability, potentiometers are
absolute devices so once incorporated into a dummy and calibrated
they never forget where they are so starting joint position can be
adjusted without further calibration. Durability is also another key
feature of the GL sensor; it's robust yet compact design over
exceptional life expectancy.
Passenger cars used to be built on a very rigid chassis on the
mistaken belief that "stronger was safer" we now know that this
isn't the case and that "energy absorbing" vehicles are far safer.
This is especially born out in motor sport where vehicles are travelling
faster than ever but the number of driver fatalities has fallen. By
studying the results of the TRL tests vehicle designers are able to
compare the performance of different techniques, materials and
ideas to keep car occupants safe even in a really serious collision.
The potentiometers used within the dummies are just part of the
Variohm-Eurosensor range. Similar sensors are supplied into
many industries from medical to aerospace where the ability to
survive in the harshest of environments is important.
For more
information, please contact:-
Variohm-Eurosensor
Ltd.
Tel:
+44(0) 1327 351004
Fax: +44(0) 1327 353564
Email: sales@variohm.com
Web: www.variohm.com
March 2006
