Development of a Surrogate Shoulder Belt Retractor for Sled Testing of Booster Seats

Abstract

The goal of this research program was to develop a surrogate seatbelt retractor that could be used repeatedly to evaluate booster seats using a seatbelt system similar to that found in passenger vehicles. Dynamic sled tests of four different backless booster products, along with a no-booster condition, were performed using a preliminary revision of the FMVSS 213 buck, along with two vehicle seats. Seatbelts that were evaluated include the fixed lap and shoulder belt currently used in FMVSS 213 testing, production seatbelts with retractors from two vehicles, and a surrogate retractor developed for this project. The surrogate retractor was able to produce kinematics similar to those achieved with the production seatbelt in a repeatable manner.