Overview
ISO 15829:2013 - "Road vehicles - Side impact test procedures for the evaluation of occupant interactions with side airbags by pole impact simulation" - specifies dynamic test procedures that simulate vehicle collisions with a rigid pole to evaluate how side airbags (SAB) interact with occupants. The standard defines test site, pole geometry, impact configurations, vehicle preparation, dummy selection, instrumentation and required measurements for consistent assessment of head, chest and pelvic protection in side-pole impacts.
Key topics and technical requirements
- Scope and purpose: Procedures for evaluating occupant–airbag interaction in side impacts against a rigid pole.
- Pole specification: Rigid pole diameter 254 mm ± 3 mm; supporting structure must avoid secondary impacts.
- Impact angles and velocities:
- Oblique test: 75° ± 3° at 32 km/h ± 0.5 km/h
- Perpendicular test: 90° ± 3° at 29 km/h ± 0.5 km/h
- Locus and alignment: Vehicle positioned so the dummy head center of gravity (CG) aligns with the pole centerline; specified offset tolerances (optimal ±10 mm, acceptable ±25 mm).
- Test mass and ballasting: Test mass = vehicle kerb mass + cargo mass + dummy mass; vehicle ballasted to within ±10 kg without altering deformable structures.
- Vehicle preparation: Doors latched, adjacent windows down (or taped), sunroof closed, steering set mid-mid, parking brake disengaged, transmission neutral; seating and dummy positioning per ISO 17949.
- Test dummy: WorldSID 50th percentile male as specified in ISO 15830‑4; dummy temperature and conditioning per manufacturer guidance.
- Instrumentation & data capture:
- Tri-axial accelerometers at vehicle CG and base of non-struck B-pillar (optionally struck side B‑pillar)
- Airbag deployment timing
- High-speed photography at ≥1 000 fps, recommended 1024×1024 resolution with multiple camera views
- Measurements filtered and recorded according to ISO 6487, ISO 8721 and ISO/TR 27957
- Measured outputs: Head linear and rotational accelerations, neck loads/moments, and other dummy kinematics for injury-criterion assessment.
Applications and users
- Vehicle manufacturers conducting side-impact safety validation and airbag system development
- Automotive safety engineers and crash test labs performing pole-impact simulations
- Regulators and NCAP organizations evaluating occupant protection and side-airbag performance
- Researchers studying injury biomechanics in lateral impacts
Keywords: ISO 15829, side impact, pole impact simulation, side airbags, WorldSID, vehicle instrumentation, high-speed photography, impact velocity, B-pillar, occupant protection.
Related standards
This summary highlights the practical technical requirements in ISO 15829:2013 for consistent, reproducible evaluation of side‑airbag performance in pole-impact scenarios.