What a Sensor Sees
Sensors for Test & Measurement
During collision testing at 2,000 g's, our sensors see what it takes to keep drivers safe behind the wheel. That's why the world's largest automakers trust TE Connectivity accelerometers to capture data from these tests and help confirm cars are ready to go to market.
A fraction of a second. That’s how quickly TE Connectivity (TE) accelerometers collect thousands of data points during a vehicle crash test. Automotive design engineers use information gathered by accelerometers to develop vehicles that protect the drivers and passengers involved in accidents. A report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (2015) estimates that “vehicle safety technologies saved 613,501 lives from 1960 through 2012, including 27,621 in 2012.1” Safety-conscious consumers often use crash-worthiness as major criteria when purchasing a vehicle.
Crash Test Accelerometers
Crash test accelerometers measure the force of gravity on the structures to which they are attached. The force of gravity that holds us on this planet is 1 g. In comparison, a passenger will see about 1.8 g’s in a steep airplane climb and 3 to 5 g’s on a roller coaster ride. At 6 g’s, humans will start to lose consciousness and at 10 g’s of force they begin to risk breaking their bones.
During crash events, vehicles may experience well over 1,000 g’s (the scientific standard for 1 g in meters is 9.8057 m/sec2.). There is also risk of a potential damage to cables and connectors, resulting in dropped or distorted signals. Consequently, care is taken to confirm that cable routing is protected as much as possible and secured with tape and/or ties. When crash test events cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, every connection really does count.
TE’s crash test accelerometers can be divided into two types: in-dummy and on-car. In-dummy sensors must meet SAE J211, ISO-6487 requirements and are typically screw-mounted. These sensors, as the name suggests, are placed on a crash-test dummy to measure body impact in the event of an accident. Vehicle manufacturers use this data to improve safety features. On-car sensors are positioned on vehicles for front, rear, side and rollover impact studies, and are often adhesively mounted. These sensors are used to measure the impact of a barrier, post, another vehicle, or the road itself on the structure of the vehicle under testing.
“For me, it’s the ruggedness that stands out,” stated Bjorn Ryden, TE product manager. “We even made a side-impact sensor with a plastic housing to keep costs low as designers were expecting to damage them during tests. Turns out, what we thought was a disposable sensor became one that was used over and over again.”
TE is also known for its innovative seat-belt load cells and pressure sensor designs for auto safety testing, including deflection measurements critical for the assessment of injury from deployed air bags. TE has received several patents for these innovative sensor designs.
A majority of TE sensor development is located in California. Our Southern California Vibration Design Center works closely with our Silicon Valley MEMS facility to develop new, cost-effective designs that are adaptable to unique testing demands. Scroll down to view sensor products for test and measurement applications. You can also use the contact us form below to share a design you're working on.
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References
1Lives Saved by Vehicle Safety Technologies and Associated Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, 1960 to 2012 Passenger Cars and LTVs. (2015, January). Retrieved from https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/812069
