The most cost-effective way for car’s components functional verification. For the development of vehicle occupant protection systems for vehicles and similar applications, Kimeca has developed a crash test sled system that is also used for development and testing of frontal, side, and head airbags, vehicle and aerospace seats, seat belt systems, and other interior parts, and also is used to test components such as high-voltage batteries, locks, hinges, and fastenings to secure loads under real-life conditions.
Sled testing allows engineers to reproduce the dynamic conditions of a full-scale crash event in a controlled environment and at a fraction of the cost of a crash test. Typically such tests are conducted to represent a simple frontal collision. However, even very complex crash events, such as those created by impacts involving two moving vehicles, can be modeled by a sled system.
Sled Testing System
ComponentsPropulsion or Launching System
The propulsion system uses pressurized air to launch the sled to the desired velocities. To reach the desired velocity, the user must specify a pressure value into an HMI (Human Machine Interface) and press the start button. The contols systems (Siemens PLC) start the test cycle:
- Extract the damper rod
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Move sled to the starting end ot the tracks (opposite side of the impact position)
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The sled stops reaching the launching point
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Compressed air starts increasing pressure until the specified value at HMI
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PLC monitors the air pressure, and whena certain pressure is reached,
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Control systems release sled
The propulsion system has really good accuracy and repeatability.
Decelerator: Hydraulic Variable Damper
Maximum Mass to decelerate: 2.5 Tons @ 100 km/h impact speed
Maximum Deceleration: 100g @ 100 km/h impact speed
Aluminum Gravity Cast Sled
It is a lightweight aluminum sled with very good strength and just 450 kg in mass. It can withstand crashes of 50 km/h impact velocity and 30g deceleration.
Steel Sled
Very strong sled for critical crash conditions: 100 km/h impact velocity, 100g deceleration, and 2000 kg payload.
Control System
- PLC
- Human Machine Interface (HMI)
- Sensors
- Actuators
