The 2013 Cadillac CTS Safety Cage currently uses advanced high strength steels (AHSS) in strategic structural locations.
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Check out the 2013 Honda N-Box Minicar Body Structure. The B-Pillar is made from 1,500 MPa high tensile hot stamped steel. Hot stamping is used to increase the strength to more than 1,500 MPa by cooling during stamping process.
Safety features:
- i-SRS system for driver side
- SRS airbags for front passengers
- Side Curtain air bag system
- Front seats also feature impact mitigating headrests which protect the driver and front passenger from neck injury.
2013 Nissan GTR Body Structure has different types of metals. Aluminum and different grades of high strength steels. Also, take a quick look at the Crash Recovery System screenshot below for airbag locations.
Here’s a quick look at the 2013 Mitsubishi Lancer body structure and airbag locations. The Lancer has 7 airbag system dual front airbags, front seat-mounted side airbags and side air curtains. Plus a standard airbag to protect the driver’s knees.
Make sure you take note of the location of the roof/side airbag stored gas inflator in the C-Pillar. The Crash Recovery System screenshot below clearly shows the hazard in a common cut location.
The 2012 (actually since 2009) Mercedes Benz S-Class is made from a bunch of Ultra High Strength Steel. The B-Pillar and rockers are made from Mega High Strength Steel. Make sure you take a look at the screen shot below from Moditech’s Crash recovery System (CRS) and compare it to the other images. Crash Recovery System would have provided some useful information on scene of a MVA that involved a S-Class.
Here is a quick look at the 2013 Volvo C70. The doors and B-pillars have been reinforced in various ways. In a side impact the doors and B-pillars work together with the reinforced sills and a comprehensive system of cross-members and bulkheads to absorb the collision forces.
The C70 retractable hardtop also features a roll over protection structure (ROPS) with two pyrotechnically charged roll hoops hidden behind the rear seats that deploy under roll-over conditions whether the roof is retracted or not.
Take a look the screen shot from Moditech’s Crash Recovery System. Notice that the B-pillars don’t show any advanced or reinforced steel? Just remember, most convertibles have a very large B-pillar structure behind the sheet metal.
Below are the 2012 Dodge Avenger body structure and airbags. Also take note of the location of the 12 volt battery. The Avenger also has double-laminated glass on the front doors and windshield. Another safety feature are the active front head restraints move forward and upward during a rear-end collision to decrease the space between the headrest and head, helping reduce the risk of head and spinal injuries.
What’s different about the Veolster compared to a typical vehicle?
One design technique automakers use is common parts that can be used in different places in the vehicle, but are the exact same part. Another commonly used technique is design a part that is symmetrically opposite, or in better words, a mirror image. This is the reason most side airbags and inflators are generally located in the same location from driver side to passenger side. However, that is not always the case. Take a look at the body structure of the 2012 Hyundai Veolster. Not only are the side airbag inflators in a different location on the driver compared to the passenger side. The B-Pillar is completely different from driver to passenger. Now on the Hyundai Veolster, a quick inner survey should reveal that the passenger side has a rear door. Always keep in made the vehicle could be pinned up next to a jersey barrier or another vehicle that could hide features of the vehicle. While the 2012 Hyundai Veolster is a uniquely designed body structure and definitely not typical. We need to add the body structure design and asymmetrically airbag location into our mental toolboxes!
First off, if you haven’t liked the Boron Extrication page on Facebook, please do that now to make sure stay up to date with all the extrication information that is shared by global extrication technicians. Second, since Ron Moore has created the University of Extrication Facebook page it should be a no brainier to like that page as well. Otherwise, you would miss out on a sneak peek from a University of Extrication article in Firehouse magazine below!
The University of Extrication article in the March issue of Firehouse Magazine looks at changes in the structural design of new vehicles.. I had a chance to photograph a brand new Cadillac body structure while in Michigan recently. Pictures of that vehicle were used in the article. What we need to make sure that rescue personnel are aware of is how the bottom of A-pillars and B-pillars are going to get "fatter." Look at this close-up view of the driver's side A-pillar, 2012 Cadillac ATS. If you were "rolling" or "jacking" this dash, because of this design, you will have to cut almost all four sides of the base of the pillar before it will move.
The 2013 Lexus GS Body Structure has an exterior weight reduction through a combination of aluminum alloys, high-tensile strength steel, ultra high-tensile strength steel and hot-press steel. Yes the steel that has to be heated before it’s stamped!
Hot-pressed steel is used for the upper B-pillar and the roof side-rails.
The 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan Body Structure is a strong, lightweight Unibody is formed by welding high-strength steel sheet metal stampings to form a single structure, resulting in a stiff body structure and torsional rigidity, which contributes to better impact protection and ride and handling characteristics and helping to control interior noise.
Increased roof strength and safety cage construction protect the passenger compartment in the event of an accident, while specially designed front and rear crumple zones help absorb impact energy and redirect it away from passengers to reduce the risk of injury.
The 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan Body Structure has seven standard airbags.
- Advanced Multistage front airbags regulate and react to the severity of a crash by adjusting the airbag deployment force.
- Supplemental side-curtain airbags are specifically designed to protect all outboard front- and rear-seat passengers.
- Supplemental front seat-mounted side airbags provide enhanced side protection for the driver and front passenger. They work together with side-curtain airbags to help protect an occupant during side impact and rollover events.
- A driver inflatable knee blocker airbag deploys when the driver’s airbag deploys. It helps position the driver relative to the front airbag and avoid sliding under the instrument panel in the event of a collision.
The body structure of the all-new 2012 Chevrolet Sonic sedan and hatchback. Nearly 60 percent of the body structure, as well as the four-mount hydro-formed engine cradle, use high-strength steel. Ultra-high-strength steel is strategically integrated in the forward portion of the rockers and the center cross bar.
© Copyright General Motors
The reinforced front hinge and A- and B-pillar zones help maintain the integrity of the passenger compartment. The roof is capable of supporting up to four times the car’s weight.
© Copyright General Motors
© Copyright General Motors
© Copyright General Motors
The all-new 2012 Chevrolet Sonic is the only vehicle in its class with 10 standard airbags. . The Sonic features dual-stage airbags for the driver and the front passenger and roof-rail mounted head curtain airbags and seat mounted side-impact airbags for front and outboard rear seat passengers as standard. A driver knee air bag and a segment-exclusive front passenger knee air bag are included to reduce injury to lower extremities.
© Copyright General Motors
© Copyright General Motors
On the hatchback, the door handles are concealed in the C-Pillar and are rendered in black, as is the trim, giving the car the appearance of a two-door hatchback.
At Audi, lightweight construction has long been a top priority and it is one of the pillars of the brand. Audi is the pioneer of the self-supporting aluminum body and the worldwide leader in the field of lightweight construction. Future innovations will ensure that the brand can continue to reverse the weight spiral. Each new Audi model will be lighter than the one it replaces. To put some numbers to this initiative the new 2012 A6 currently being launched, can weigh as much as 80 kilograms (176.37 lb) less then the previous model. Some interesting and important facts to keep in mind about Audi vehicles.
Source of images Audi USA News
UPDATE May 22, 2012 – Check out Brock Archer’s post on the Scion IQ Eleven Airbags, it now has 11 airbags!
Scion is a Toyota brand and the Scion iQ is based off the Toyota iQ, so consider them one in the same. The 2011 Toyota iQ and Scion iQ is a tiny car that is packed with Ultra-High Strength Steel. However, the thing that scares me about this car are the nine, count them, 9 airbags. That means 9 cylinders stuffed into hidden areas of the body structure behind the trim panels.
The rear air bag is ejected from the headliner during a fender bender. Toyota says it will help protect the heads and necks back seat passengers. So there is a good chance that the rear air bag will be deployed by the time that first responders arrive. Just remember to always strip away the trim to find the gas filled cylinders. Ron Moore posted on the University of Extrication forum that “inflators now have a stored gas pressure of up to 10,000psi”. Take the time to find the cylinders or at least make sure your cutting thru one. As cars like the iQ hit the market, airbag cylinders are going to show up more often.
I was looking around for a image of the inflators and I ran into an article by Dave Dalrymple that he wrote for Fire Engineering, New Vehicle Technology and New Extrication Challenges.
The curtain’s inflation module is inside the air bag itself and located in the rear roof edge between the rear head rests. As for the rest of the nine systems, count them from the crash recovery system diagram (photo 8). So it’s not just high-end vehicles that have a wide spectrum of SRS systems. Although this vehicle is not yet for sale, look for it in 2010, possibly as the Scion IQ.
The body structure of the 2011 Hyundai Genesis is made from an Ultra High Strength Steel (UHSS) uni-body. This is the first line of defense for the passengers inside the Genesis’s cabin. Hyundai has engineered advanced crumple zones to absorb and redirect forces away from the passenger cabin. 
Genesis body-in-white is made of the following types of steel: High-strength steel (HSS) (56.7%), shown in green, and Ultra-high-strength steel (UHSS) (18.3%), shown in orange/red. That totals to 75%.
There are 8 airbags in the Genesis, including 2 front, 2 rear seat, dual front-advanced, and roof-mounted curtain side impact bags. An added safety feature in the seat is the active front head restraints that protect against whiplash in a rear collision. These whiplash protection systems have started to make there way into more vehicles. When the systems were first used the cost was too high so you would only find them in high end vehicles. The systems work very well!
I wish every automaker would make a detailed extrication handbook for their vehicles. Most provide a basic guide for the hazards in their vehicles. However, Mercedes-Benz has gone above and beyond. Take a look at the link below. The Mercedes-Benz guide is 187 pages full of very useful information that can be used on other makes and models.
Guidelines for Rescue Services Passenger Cars
Below is an example of what the guide shows:
In the S-Class (model 221), certain areas of the Apillar are particularly well-suited to being cut through. Such areas are clearly designated with “CUT” marks in the windshield.
Cutting the A-pillar free in the area of the roof frame on this vehicle.
The 2010 Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain are packed full of UHSS and Dual Phase Steel.
4. A-Pillar and Roof Rail Reinforcement - Dual Phase Steel
10. Center Reinforcement Pillar Replacement – Dual Phase Steel
13. Side Door Impact Beams – Ultra High Strength Steel
14. Rocker Panel – Ultra High Strength Steel
Today I want to focus on a little terminolgy. First off, BIW stands for Body in White . All activities in the production of a Vehicle Body or Shell before it goes to the Paint shop are done in a weld shop and the end product of a Weld shop is referred to as BIW. Two kinds of BIW Structures :
- Monocoque : In this type of structure, all the members of the body are load carrying and they are integrated with each other. Here chassis is inbuilt with the BIW itself and there is no separate chassis. Wheels are directly mounted to the BIW with the help of suspension system. Used in all the passenger cars and to some extent in utility vehicles.
- Body on frame : In this type of body construction, the body is placed on frame which is the major load carrying member. Body is mounted on a separate chassis/frame and the wheels are mounted on the chassis and not to the body. Used in utility vehicles, trucks, buses.
Automakers like Ford Motor Company and General Motors offer for sale Body In White (BIW) kits like the 2010 Camaro pictured above.
