Anatomy of a crash test

Based at Torslanda in Goteborg, Sweden, the Volvo Cars Safety Centre is the centre of excellence in its field for Ford's Premium Auto Group (PAG).

Since opening in 2000, the centre's level of output has increased over the years -- to the point where 450 cars are being 'pranged' in an average year. Typically, any new model will undergo 100 crash tests during the course of its development.

The facility is equipped with two test tracks, one fixed and the other movable. By rotating the movable track through an arc of up to 90 degrees, vehicles can be tested for many different types of crash, such as frontal and side collisions, with other vehicles, at various impact speeds and from different angles.

On the fixed track, vehicles can reach speeds of up to 120km/h, allowing crash testing to replicate most real world circumstances.

According to Magnus Krokstrom, senior manager at the Volvo Cars Safety Centre, "It is the capacity to accurately replicate real-life crashes that makes our facility unique."

The centre recreates actual crashes in the laboratory and analyses the results of those tests, to ensure that Ford, Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo cars meet the necessary standards for organisations such as EuroNCAP (European New Car Assessment Program) and America's IIHS (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety).

From the planning stage, a crash test requires five working days to complete. The car is prepared over a three-day period. That preparation requires the car to be painted in a matt colour, usually orange. This prevents reflected glare from the car's body work appearing in the high-speed film.

During the same three-day period, test dummies are readied for their thankless role. In-car telemetry is fitted to the car the day before the test takes place.

Two tests are conducted each day. The data from the test is ready for analysis within an hour, but the crashed vehicle and the dummies inside are also inspected manually for signs of trauma that may not be completely apparent from the telemetry.

A preliminary report is completed within a working day, but further analysis can require up to two weeks for publication.

The centre can also handle virtual reality crashes using computers up to three and a half years prior to the vehicle's volume production.

Physical testing commences about a year prior to the vehicle's launch. Volvo's safety experts must be convinced the vehicle is up to the task of crash testing -- based on the computer simulations -- before they'll undertake the physical testing.

The vehicles used for crash testing are usually subjected to other tests beforehand, eg: hot weather testing or dust-sealing. Crash testing is the last of a long line of tests and useful data from this testing will lead to improvements for the production versions.

Recently, the centre assumed testing of active safety systems (such as ABS and ESP). This is a progression from the purely 'crashworthy' testing of passive safety systems for which Volvo is renowned.

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