Mercedes-Benz has carried out the world’s first X-ray crash with a real car in a bid to better understand what happens to vehicles and humans in collisions.
Together with the Fraunhofer-Institute for High-Speed Dynamics, Mercedes carried out the side-impact test of a sedan with a dummy on board at the EMI (Ernst Mach Institute) in Freiburg, Germany.
This proof-of-concept demonstration has shown that high-speed X-ray technology can provide revealing new insights into what happens inside a vehicle and to the dummies during an accident, says Mercedes.
“The Mercedes-Benz X-ray crash sets a milestone in the development tools of the future. With a direct view into the hidden interior, it can help to draw important conclusions for the further improvement of vehicle safety,” says Markus Schäfer, Mercedes’ chief technology officer.
The high-speed X-ray imaging uses a linear accelerator to shoot up to 1,000 frames per second. During the crash test, the beams shine through the bodywork and dummies from above.
In the milliseconds of the actual impact time, the X-ray system shoots about 100 still images. Combined into a video, they provide insights into what happens inside safety-relevant components. It is possible to view in detail how the thorax of the dummy is pressed in or how a component is deformed.
Mercedes-Benz conducted its first crash test in 1959 and currently carries out up to 900 crash tests a year
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