Design and Protective Performance Effectiveness Analysis of Child Restrained System with an Airbag

Child occupants are highly vulnerable to head and neck injuries in vehicle crashes; conventional child restraint systems primarily restrain the torso, with limited ability to directly reduce excessive head excursion and neck loads during frontal collisions. Therefore, effective cushioning and energy absorption are needed to improve head and neck protection in child restraint systems. This study proposed and evaluated a novel child restraint system integrated with an airbag to enhance head and neck protection. A finite element model of a five-point harness child safety seat with an airbag module mounted on the seatbelt buckle was developed. The predictive accuracy of the airbag model and child restraint system was validated through pendulum impact tests and frontal sled tests. Next, the PIPER 3 human model was applied to evaluate the effectiveness of the airbag. Compared with the five-point harness child restraint system without an airbag, the incorporation of the airbag significantly improved head and neck protection. Specifically, the maximum vertical head-T1 displacement decreased from 286 mm to 90 mm; additionally, HIC15, 3 ms resultant head acceleration, peak upper neck tension force, peak upper neck flexion moment, and 3 ms chest acceleration were reduced by 51.8%, 27.8%, 66.9%, 29.6%, and 16.0%, respectively. This study provided a technical basis for the development of passive safety technologies in child restraint systems with airbag applications.