| Jaguar has today revealed the world’s first
Pyrotechnic Pedestrian Deployable Bonnet System (PDBS) a state-of-the-art
advanced safety feature, at the Frankfurt Auto Show. In an era of safety
conscious motoring, Jaguar has managed to combine beautiful, fast sports
car design with the latest pedestrian impact technology to create a world
first with the all-new XK.
In the unfortunate event of a pedestrian impact, the deployable bonnet
on the new XK automatically ‘pops’ up a few inches, to create
a cushioning effect between the engine and the bonnet. This helps to isolate
the pedestrian from hard points in the engine compartment – and
takes place in less than a tenth of the time it takes to blink an eye.
Jaguar is one of the first manufacturers to meet Phase One of new European
safety legislation using an active deployable bonnet system. The new standards
are designed to help mitigate the severity of injuries to pedestrians
in the event of a collision with a car.
Legislation in the European market requires manufacturers to commit to
a two-phase introduction of a range of active and passive safety improvements
on all new cars to improve the protection of pedestrians in case of accident.
Other manufacturers who have taken the active bonnet route are Citroen
and Honda, who have their own systems on the C6 and Legend models respectively.
“The Jaguar design team embraced the idea of using a deployable
bonnet when it was first considered during early concept discussions on
the new XK. This clever feature saves between 50 and 65mm in height off
the bonnet surface and a similar amount off the roofline, allowing the
design team to maintain a very low, sleek Jaguar sports car profile on
the new XK,” said Ian Callum, Jaguar Cars design director.
The Jaguar Pyrotechnic Pedestrian Deployable Bonnet provides an innovative
solution to these legislative requirements whilst ensuring that the sleek
lines that customers expect from Jaguar sports cars can be retained. The
active system fitted to the all-new XK is complemented by a passive bumper
system, the design of which helps to mitigate leg injury through the use
of crushable foam and plastic covering. An advanced sensing system is
mounted in the front bumper to help discriminate between a pedestrian
collision and any other possible front-end collisions. The speed of the
sensing time in the system is around one tenth of the time it takes to
blink an eye.
Phil Hodgkinson Jaguar Programmes Director said: “I take technology
development at our product development centres very seriously and I am
proud to be working with Jaguar engineers who can deliver this kind of
safety system, which we believe to be a world-first. The fact that it
also allows us to stay true to Ian Callum's core Jaguar design values
is equally satisfying.”
The complex system has been extensively researched across wide-ranging
scenarios, using 120 man-years and thousands of computer simulations,
as well as tested in practice at Jaguar’s Engineering Centre at
Whitley in Coventry, England. While all pedestrian impact research has
been carried out using virtual tools, analysis of previous 'real world'
incidents has played an important part in the development process.
One of the impressive points about the new XK's pyrotechnic deployable
bonnet system is that it can lift the bonnet (which weighs 18kg) in around
30 milliseconds, which requires an acceleration rate of about 50 times
the force of gravity (50g). The device is mechanically fastened to the
bonnet and the chassis. When activated, the pyrotechnic charge inflates
a woven polymer tube, lifting the bonnet upwards. The mesh then collapses
back. This design allows the bonnet to be closed and latched again after
deployment. This differs from the Citroen system which uses sprung–loaded
bolts: these remain in the extended position, preventing closure.
Physical research carried out by the Jaguar development team has included
investigation of various impacts including inanimate objects such as motorway
cones. This is a vital part of the process to allow the system to differentiate
a person from other impacts that can be experienced in day-to-day driving.
The Jaguar pyrotechnic pedestrian deployable bonnet system normally operates
at vehicle speeds where it provides the most benefit and is automatically
disabled outside of this speed range. The system is completely separate
from any other crash protection system on the vehicle, including airbags.
“The Pyrotechnic Pedestrian Deployable Bonnet in the all-new XK
is a leading safety technology that goes hand in hand with an advanced
Jaguar sports car, sitting alongside a beautifully crafted luxury interior,
aluminium technology and scintillating, dynamic performance,” said
Russ Varney, Chief Program Engineer for the XK series.
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