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Short version: 60 years of crash testing at Mercedes-Benz: On a collision course on behalf of safety

For 60 years now, Mercedes-Benz has been really crunching them up: the first crash test in the history of the brand took place on 10 September 1959

For 60 years now, Mercedes-Benz has been really crunching them up: the first crash test in the history of the brand took place on 10 September 1959. A test car slammed head-on into a solid obstacle. This marked the beginning of a new era in safety research. From then on, this made it possible to study the behaviour of vehicles and occupants in car accidents more closely using test cars and crash test dummies. At present, the Technology Centre for Vehicle Safety (TFS) in Sindelfingen conducts about 900 crash tests plus around 1700 “sled tests” each year. A test mule (body shell or test assembly) is mounted on the test sled and subjected to the forces arising during a real vehicle crash. Mercedes-Benz consistently set new standards for crash test procedures and testing facilities that have been adopted across the industry and thereby resulted in improved vehicle safety in the interests of all road users on a lasting basis.

Mercedes-Benz has been conducting systematic crash testing since 1959. To date, more than 14,000 cars have been tested. In addition to passenger cars, Mercedes-Benz also conducts thorough crash testing of vans and heavy-duty commercial vehicles.

“As a safety pioneer, Mercedes-Benz has made a decisive contribution to the worldwide establishment of crash tests in the automotive industry”, says Markus Schäfer, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG, responsible for Group Research & Mercedes-Benz Cars Development. “They remain indispensable even in the age of computer simulations and ensure the high level of protection our vehicles provide for their occupants and other road users”.

Mercedes-Benz designs all model series for the real accident scenarios. In crash testing, this means that around 40 different accident constellations are taken into account. The models of the brand also perform accordingly well in independent crash tests: just recently, in early September 2019, the EQC 400 4MATIC (weighted power consumption: 20.8 – 19.7 kWh/100 km; weighted CO2 emissions: 0 g/km)[1] and the new CLA passed crash tests according to the Euro NCAP[2] procedure with flying colours. They received five stars. The new B-Class and the new GLE likewise achieved this best possible rating in July 2019. Furthermore, the A-Class had been honoured by Euro NCAP in 2018 as the best vehicle tested that year and as best-in-class in the segment of “small family vehicles”.

Mercedes-Benz conducts more crash tests than required by law or for ratings

Compared with evaluating a car damaged in an actual accident, the major benefit of a crash test lies in the ability to collect data during the collision. To this end, the vehicles are equipped with a number of sensors and high-speed cameras. Various types of dummies fitted with measuring equipment are available to provide reproducible data on the forces to which the human body would be subjected in a real car accident.

The company’s crash tests exceed the number and complexity of the legally required tests: state-of-the-art simulation methods support the development process in this context. Up to 15,000 realistic crash simulations and about 150 vehicle crash tests may be required to make an entirely new vehicle ready for customer operations. In addition to the impact configurations mandated for the global type approval of a vehicle, this also includes rating tests and particularly demanding in-house crash tests. One example in this regard is the roof drop test, which the company conducts additionally.

Please click here to view the full press release.

SOURCE: Daimler

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