Impact Attenuator - Max decel testing

[bmw.williams1]

This topic is regarding meeting the new impact attenuator data requirements stated in the 2009 rules.

The only method my university only has to do physical testing of an impact attenuator is a drop hammer with a minimum mass of approximately 600kg. Is it acceptable to use the 600kg mass as the impact weight with a reduced drop height to match the energy produced from a 300kg weight dropped at a larger height? I am aware that the impact velocity, and hence deceleration will be reduced, however is there a way of matching the energy and force to the required 300kg vehicle weight?

And is physical testing 100% compulsory? The rules do not directly say this, however it is pretty much implied by stating that the test piece must be presented at tech inspection.

I have contacted the rules committee but have not received a reply as yet so I was hoping this topic would spark some interest.

[bmw.williams1]

This topic is regarding meeting the new impact attenuator data requirements stated in the 2009 rules.

The only method my university only has to do physical testing of an impact attenuator is a drop hammer with a minimum mass of approximately 600kg. Is it acceptable to use the 600kg mass as the impact weight with a reduced drop height to match the energy produced from a 300kg weight dropped at a larger height? I am aware that the impact velocity, and hence deceleration will be reduced, however is there a way of matching the energy and force to the required 300kg vehicle weight?

And is physical testing 100% compulsory? The rules do not directly say this, however it is pretty much implied by stating that the test piece must be presented at tech inspection.

I have contacted the rules committee but have not received a reply as yet so I was hoping this topic would spark some interest.

[Michael Royce]

bmw,
The US Rules Committee has not received a question from you, so we assume that you have sent your question to SAE-Australasia, which is appropriate as presumably, you will enter the FSAE-Australasia competition.

However, on behalf of the Rules Committee, I can say this. The Rule says "The team must submit test data....". If that does not mean you have to performa a test, I don't know what does!

How you test is up to you. But you will have to convince the evaluators of your report that the test you perform is valid. There is an FAQ on the official SAE web site that covers a number of questions on this topic.