Figure 1. THOR Alpha Cutaway Model		As a component of a long-term research program dedicated to the reduction of automotive crash trauma, the National Transportation Biomechanics Research Center of the NHTSA Research and Development Office has directed the development of an advanced crash test dummy, denoted as THOR. THOR has been designed to assist both the development and the evaluation of advanced vehicle occupant safety systems, and incorporates significantly improved biofidelity and greatly expanded injury assessment capabilities in all body regions. Though designed specifically for use in frontal and oblique crash environments, the design offers multi-directional capabilities in several of its components. GESAC, Inc., of Boonsboro, MD, served as prime contractor to the NHTSA for engineering development of this crash test device.
As an integral part of the THOR development program, the NHTSA has actively involved the participation of worldwide automotive manufacturers, research organizations, and government agencies in extensive test and evaluation trials. Through the generosity and cooperative efforts of expert individuals and institutions in North America, Japan, Europe, and Australia, many useful refinements have been identified and incorporated into the current THOR Alpha version (see Figure 1).

• Assistance in optimization of "smart" occupant restraint systems, including setting of air bag deployment thresholds and design of integrated advanced belt/ bag restraint systems;
• Improved assessment of belt/ bag interactions;
• Improved head kinematics, as a result of new neck and spine designs;
• Improved neck injury assessment, including out-of-position injury assessment;
• More realistic spinal kinematics, as a result of added spine flexibility;
• Facility for assessment of seated posture effects upon restraint performance;
• Detection of air bag, belt, and wheel rim interaction with the abdomen;
• Facility for injury assessment at the hip joint;
• Detailed assessment of foot motions and ankle/foot/tibia injury potential;
• Facility for localized facial injury assessment

  
  Figure 2. THOR Alpha Components

  
  
  To realize the above functional benefits, THOR Alpha incorporates new design approaches in many component parts, (Figure 2), as follows:
  
  

  	Load sensing face with regional measurement capability (Figure 3);
  	Multi-directional head/ neck design with a) kinematic performance matched to human volunteer frontal, lateral, and rear impact data, and b) distinct cervical column and "muscular" load paths (Figure 4);
  	Human-like thoracic structure with clavicle representation, multiple high-speed 3D deflection instruments at four locations on the anterior ribcage, and optional mid-sternum uni-directional displacement measurement (Figure 5);

  
  
• Articulating spine with adjustable vehicle-seated posture (Figure 6);






	Improved shoulder design with more human-like mobility (Figure 7);
	Restorable abdomen design featuring an upper module with compression measurement and a lower module with continuous bilateral 3D deflection measurements (Figure 8);
	Pelvis design with revised anthropometry and flesh configuration, injury assessment capability at the hips, and submarining detection features (Figure 9);




	Compliant femur design to assist in generation of more realistic femur loads (Figure 10);
	Lower extremity design (Thor-Lx) with more human-like ankle/ foot motions, a representation of the Achilles tendon load path, and substantially advanced injury assessment capabilities (Figure 11);



• A design intended for ease of calibration, maintenance, and use.

Figure 12. THOR Alpha Instrumentation

Figure 13. CRUX 3D Multi-Point Thorax Deflection Measurement System


Figure 14. DGSP 3D Multi-Point Abdominal Measurement System

• Renault, Volvo Car, SAAB, Autoliv Research AB, Chalmers University
• EEVC/ADRIA: Transport Research Laboratory, TNO, Polytechnic University of Madrid

• NHTSA Vehicle Research and Test Center
• Transport Canada
• USCAR (GM, Ford, Daimler-Chrysler)
• Honda Research of America
• University of Virginia
• U.S. Federal Aviation Administration
• U.S. Department of Defense

• JAMA/ Japan Automobile Research Institute
• Australia (FORS)
• Autoliv Australia

• THOR Alpha DRAWING PACKAGE, in AutoCAD 2000 format
• Supporting Text Documents, as follows (pdf format).
  
  • Bill of Materials
  • Drawing Index Document
  • Drawing Arrangement Document
  • Title Page
  
  
• THOR Alpha USERS' MANUAL
  

  Cover/Title Page		Section 9 - Upper Abdomen Assembly
  Table of Contents		Section 10 - Lower Abdomen Assembly
  Section 1 - Introduction		Section 11 - Pelvis Assembly
  Section 2 - Dummy Preparation and Use		Section 12 - Femur Assembly
  Section 3 - Face Assembly		Section 13 - THOR-LX Assembly
  Section 4 - Head Assembly		Section 14 - Jacket and Clothing Assembly
  Section 5 - Neck Assembly		Section 15 - Instrumentation and Wiring
  Section 6 - Spine Assembly		Section 16 -CRUX Units
  Section 7 - Thorax Assembly		Section 17 - Double Gimbaled String Potentiometer (DGSP) Units
  Section 8 - Shoulder Assembly		APPENDIX A. Positioning of Thor Dummy in Jeep Grand Cherokee

  
  
• THOR Alpha CERTIFICATION PROCEDURES DOCUMENT
• THOR Alpha BIOMECHANICAL REQUIREMENTS DOCUMENT
• THOR Alpha THORTEST PROGRAMS
• THOR Alpha THORTEST PROGRAMS-USERS' MANUAL
  • USERS' MANUAL README FILE