First of all, Volvo, a Swedish manufacturer, has a history of car safety. In modern cars, it invented the car seat belt and took the lead in using it in production cars. There is no doubt about the importance of seat belts in current automobile safety. Therefore, Volvo has a history of safety.
Secondly, Volvo found that in such a competitive automobile market, it is difficult to be competitive without features, and its safety is outstanding, which is undoubtedly a good propaganda means. Volvo carries out automobile marketing with the slogan of safety.
The advertisement says that safety is only superficial. Volvo's goal in designing cars is better safety. In layman's terms, for example, the sales staff of Volvo will tell you that some unexpected designs are for safety when introducing cars. For example, there are two groups of steel beams on the body of Volvo S40, which can't be sheet metal, that is to say, once damaged, they can only be replaced. Consumers may think it is not cost-effective, but it is all for safety. Think about it, you will not only lose your temper, but also cheer for Volvo.
Nowadays, with the development of science and technology, it is difficult for a single manufacturer to develop monopolistic automobile safety technology, including Volvo, whose research on safety is also imminent, but at the same time, other manufacturers are also making progress. Perhaps some car manufacturers have surpassed Volvo in safety technology, but in the eyes of consumers, Volvo is safe.
Why? Mainly depends on what consumers think. If we look at Volvo's success in safety now, we have to admire Volvo's marketing methods.
(A) to establish their own traffic accident research department
Every car designer expects his products to have the ability to protect passengers' safety, but the fact is that thousands of people die in car accidents every year. The best answer is whether the safety design of automobiles can cope with emergencies in different situations. As early as 1966, the Swedes investigated more than 28,000 traffic accidents of Volvo cars in Sweden and abroad in one year. The results clearly show that if the front passenger wears a seat belt, the injury will be reduced by half. Volvo Company realized that mastering the relevant information after traffic accidents has the same value as developing new products, so it established its own traffic accident research department at 1970, which is a significant difference between Volvo and most other automobile manufacturers.
Volvo's traffic accident research department is located in Gothenburg, where the company is headquartered, and its name is Volvo Safety Accident Detection Center. Whenever a traffic accident occurs within 0/00km from Gothenburg to Fiona Fang/Kloc-00, resulting in casualties, especially after the accident of Volvo cars, the personnel of the testing center will be informed by the emergency center or the police, and will arrive at the first time no matter day or night. Engineers should conduct a comprehensive investigation of the accident, and the police, witnesses and parties are the objects of their interview and investigation, check the damage degree of the accident car, link all kinds of accidents with complex mechanical devices for research, collect all kinds of data, and then make an illustrated investigation document and provide it to every department related to product development. Hans Norlin, director of the test center, said: "The more information we get, the better. These things are an extremely important part of our development work. "
(B) Volvo car safety measures system standards and inspection methods
Volvo has formulated the standards for automobile safety measures system:
1, traffic safety and collision safety must be considered separately and treated differently, and cannot be confused.
2. Various factors and accident types must be considered comprehensively. Consider what car was hit, what object was hit, the speed and the number of people in the car at that time, and all the data and information that can be found on the road at that time.
3. If the safety performance of a car is measured by a certain scale, it is necessary to adopt the same model instead of changing it every year.
4. Car safety has become a guide for customers to choose safe cars.
Automobile safety has become a guide for manufacturers to develop and produce safer and more reliable products.
There are three ways to test the safety performance of Volvo cars:
First, traffic accidents. From the scene, we can see how important the safety measures of vehicles are in traffic accidents. The disadvantage is that the new car will have to wait for several years to collect more sufficient information.
The second is expert evaluation, which can quickly draw a general conclusion. The disadvantage is that the evaluation results are interfered by people's will, and the results are often different because of the different starting points of experts.
The third is the collision test, which can be carried out as soon as the new car comes out. The disadvantage is that people can only set the program flow in advance, a certain speed, and a certain number of people in the crash mode.
Volvo believes that only by using the above three inspection methods to comprehensively evaluate the safety of a car can a more comprehensive conclusion be drawn.
(3) Detailed impact test
Since the early 1970s, Volvo has been studying how to counteract the impact as an independent topic. Now it has its own set of testing methods, which are considered by international peers as one of the most stringent testing methods.
Volvo's crash test includes a comprehensive test of the mannequin from head to toe, that is, face, head, neck, chest, abdomen, buttocks, legs and feet. The ideal impact test results must be obtained by imagining a large number of accident situations, using model human bodies with different speeds and sizes, and conducting many tests.
The purpose of impact test is to provide data for the design department. Volvo specializes in side impact of automobiles. At present, most cars have a folding area at the front and rear to protect passengers from frontal impact, but there is almost no such space isolation area at the side. Other vehicles hit from the side, and the occupants in the car are only a few tens of centimeters away from the door, so the collision is inevitable.
According to Volvo's statistics, 265,438+0% of car accidents are caused by side collisions. If only very serious fatal accidents are counted, the proportion of side collision is 26%. Side collisions mostly occur in crowded and noisy urban areas, and the low speed is between 10-20 km/h. Those serious accidents happened at a speed of 40-50 kilometers per hour. The injured parts are mostly exposed parts such as chest, abdomen and buttocks.
When a car collides with the side of another car at a speed of 50 kilometers per hour, it is expected that the whole collision process will be completed within 0.07 seconds, but the time for the occupants in the car to be injured is shorter. Volvo crash test experts divide the whole crash process into three time periods:
1, crash side (about 0-0.02 seconds);
2. Injury time (0.02-0.03 seconds);
3. Late contour (0.03-0.07 seconds).
Crash side means that two cars are pushed into the car as soon as they touch the door and threshold, until the side of the car touches the occupant. At this time, the passenger's buttocks and chest were hit almost at the same time for a short time. But this 0.02 second is the most dangerous and critical. Whether you can save a person who is about to be injured depends on this short 0.02 second.
Injury refers to the moment when the human body touches the side of the car. At this time, it is time to let some facilities that absorb impact energy play a role. With them, passengers can be slightly injured. Volvo believes that it is very important to design a door that conforms to the geometric principle and can keep the balance between the chest and buttocks.
Backward shift means that the front of the colliding vehicle and the side of the collided vehicle must go through a collision process until their speeds are the same. At this time, the smaller the deformation of the car body, the better, which is beneficial to rescue the wounded.
According to the impact test and analysis of the above three time periods, the design and manufacturing principles of Volvo body are: firmness and toughness. That is to say, there must be a solid side frame, a solid floor hoop, a solid roof hoop and a seat frame.
Volvo also believes that the energy-absorbing device on the door should also take into account some nuances, even depending on the chest and buttocks. The chest area is soft and the door edge is required to be soft. Similarly, the rear hip is hard, so the energy absorption device on the armrest is also hard. In addition, it should be noted that some door parts, such as manual window handles and door locks, should not be placed in prone parts of the body.
As early as 1995, Volvo took the lead in developing SIPS airbags (side impact protection airbags), which were installed on the seats between the car and passengers. In the event of a side collision, it has the best protective effect on the passenger's chest, which is the most vulnerable part in the side collision.
(D) Modern design methods
According to the traditional crash test method, it takes a long time and costs a lot to test with real vehicles. Now, computer simulation crash test can quickly and effectively analyze the safety level of automobiles and reflect some safety conditions of automobiles. Within a few days, the computer can analyze the annual workload under normal test conditions. Using a computer to calculate and test, there is no need to add new equipment and tools, or even to produce a prototype car. Using computer to develop safety protection system, Volvo engineers can make various choices, such as the size of airbag, the size of vent, the width of seat space ... The probability of car collision can also be done by computer, and the best result can be selected before the real collision test is done. This not only saves the cost, calculates accurately, but also shortens the design cycle of the whole vehicle. Volvo believes that brutal market competition means that the time for developing new cars will be greatly shortened. In order to gain time, computer calculation, analysis and testing are the only way for modern cars.
(5) a closed chain cycle
The above is actually a process designed and produced by Volvo Car Company. This is a continuous process. In Volvo's own words, it is a "closed chain". Based on the study of traffic accidents, materials and data are sorted out and fed back to relevant design departments, and designers and safety experts of product development jointly create various safety measures and develop various specifications of cars (prototypes). The impact test is carried out while developing a new car to check whether the design of the car is consistent with the original established principles, otherwise it needs to be revised as soon as possible. Volvo's crash lab conducts more than 100 vehicle crash tests every year, as well as thousands of tests of parts and a certain system. In the early design stage, computer evaluation method is adopted. In mass production, in order to ensure foolproof, Volvo has to constantly check some finished cars from the production line for impact testing. If a traffic accident happens after the finished car goes out, Volvo will collect data for research, and then feed it back to the product development department to formulate corresponding safety measures, and then apply it to the new sample car. After continuous testing, the results are satisfactory, and then put into mass production, forming a closed chain.