Lateral Load Path To Improve Side Impact Protection

In vehicle side impact collisions, side structure intrusion must be controlled to reduce risks of injuries and fatalities to occupants. This thesis proposes adding a structural mechanism between B-pillar and seat frame as an additional load path to distribute partial side impact load to the seat frame and vehicle structure, and to reduce side structure intrusion. Design requirements and a conceptual design are described. The added structure can also serve as an armrest and is retraceable in order not to effect ingress and egress of occupant. The CAD result shows that the new mechanism design can meet the human anthropometry and human ergonomics' requirements. And the mechanism is expected to improve the load distribution under side impact and reduce structure intrusion to passenger compartment.