Press release
Nanterre, March 13, 2008
APROSYS project Faurecia co-develops a pre-crash vehicle safety system that is destined to save lives following side impact
Vehicle users of the future will be considerably safer in the event of a side-on collision thanks to the APROSYS (Advanced PROtection SYStems) project that was unveiled last week in Valladolid, Spain. Alongside partners from the automotive industry and various research institutions, Faurecia has developed an innovative safety system that is able to predict an on-coming collision and activate a sideimpact protection system that significantly reduces the risk of injury. In Europe, there were close to 43,000 road accident-related fatalities in 2006. Twenty-five percent of these were caused by side impacts. Even higher figures in 2004 provided the catalyst that led the European Union to launch the APROSYS project. Part of this aimed to develop a pre-crash system for vehicles involved in side-on collisions. To do this, a team* was put together including one automaker, several automotive equipment suppliers - including Faurecia - and various research institutions and universities. The final project was officially presented in Valladolid, Spain, on March 6-7. During this event, the new system was put to the ultimate test – a live Euro NCAP side impact crash test – in front of representatives from the automotive industry and various road safety institutions such as UTAC and Euro NCAP, as well as the international press.
A standard vehicle following a Euro NCAP side-impact test.
A vehicle equipped with the APROSYS system following a Euro NCAP side-impact test.
* The APROSYS team included Daimler, Faurecia, Continental, Fraunhofer Gesellschaft, the CIDAUT Foundation, TNO Science and Industry and the universities of Warsaw and Lisbon.
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Side-on collisions have such a drastic impact on safety due to the limited space between the car body and the vehicle occupant. This leaves little time and space for safety systems such as airbags and safety belts to take their effect. The system developed for the APROSYS project involves two main parts that address both these issues. Firstly, a pre-crash sensor system has been integrated into the vehicle body. This is able to predict a collision almost 200 milliseconds before impact and decide whether or not to activate the safety system. This provides the time necessary for an active safety system to be deployed providing the best level of protection possible for occupants. Secondly, the safety system itself, which was developed by Faurecia's experts in Scheuerfeld, Germany, is designed to reduce structural intrusion into the vehicle by up to 70mm. To achieve this, Faurecia's team developed a system that, once activated, forms a continuous metal tube that runs from the exterior chassis of the door, under the seats and through the opposite door. This allows the energy of the collision to be transferred right across the vehicle thereby reducing the force in the impact zone. The actuator that makes this system possible involves a breakthrough technology that Faurecia developed with a specialist-partner, the Fraunhofer Institute. Once the pre-crash sensors give the signal, a wire switch made of Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) releases a spring-loaded bolt that effectively extends the metal tube from the seat to the door on each side of the vehicle. Another actuator closes the gap between the door's exterior shell and interior trim. The result is the creation of a continuous metal tube within 60 milliseconds of the initial signal that redirects the forces of the collision away from the b-pillar.
The loaded system. The red bar is located inside the door. The metal tube (in yellow) and bolt (in green) are located under the seat.
The SMA actuator has released the springloaded mechanism. The door bar (1), the bolt (2) and the main metal tube (in yellow) now form a continuous structure that can transfer energy across the vehicle.
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In addition to dramatically increasing the survival space of the vehicle occupant, the system also improves the overall effectiveness of other safety systems such as airbags, which can be deployed more slowly and softly as a result, and seat belts. Through the use of shape-memory alloys, the system is also entirely reversible. This means that, unlike with pyrotechnic systems, it can be rearmed and reused. "Through the combined research and development efforts of all APROSYS partners, we have come up with a solution that could make a significant difference to road safety," says Eric Zimmerman, Faurecia's APROSYS project leader and Door Safety Manager. "The system we have put together is technologically feasible and, with some further development work, could be seen on the roads within the next five years".
Faurecia is one of the world’s leading automotive equipment suppliers, specializing in six major vehicle product lines: seats, cockpits, doors, acoustic packages, front ends and exhaust systems. In 2007, the Group posted sales of €12.7 billion. It has operations in 28 countries and employs 60,000 people at its 190 sites. Faurecia is listed on the NYSE Euronext Paris market. To find out more www.faurecia.com
Contacts:
Faurecia
Olivier Le Friec Press Relations Manager Tel +33 (0)1 72 36 72 58 Mob. +33 (0)6 76 87 30 17 olivier.lefriec@faurecia.com
Tom Wright Press Officer Tel +33 (0)1 72 36 70 55 Mob. +33 (0)6 98 05 35 33 tom.wright@faurecia.com
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