Centre assured of impact
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A NEW CENTRE to study vehic impacts and their effects h been set up at Cranfield with grant of £120,000 from ti Wolfson Foundation.
The Automotive Impact Cent will be based in the School Automotive Studies which r ready has a successful record research into impacts, includir a five-year investigation coach roll-over accidents carrir out for the Department of Tran port.
The aim of the centre, which led by Professor Robert Macm Ian, is to develop for indust better and less costly techniquo for the design and impact a sessment of vehicles.
Cranfield claims that this w mean that vehicles can be d signed to give better occupal and load protection as well as do less damage to other Vebiblt or anything else they might'hit" a collision.
At the new centre a new ram down which sections of vehick can be slid to simulate roll-ovr accidents, is almost complete.
A high-speed pendulurr microcomputer operated, w demonstrate impacts up t 80km/h (50mph) and this wi complement a larger pendulur already in use at the school.
For the future, a tower rig wi be built to study side-impacts high speed on heavy gooc vehicles and buses.
The centre will also develop ii work computer programs t study the behaviour of vehicle involved in collisions.
One such program has a ready been used in contra( work to find out the acceleratio of fragile loads in impacts.