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Old 12-04-2019, 12:43 AM   #14
updraught
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Location: Australia
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Default Re: Swapping to collapsible steering column?

Quote:
Originally Posted by alexiskai View Post
The idea isn't that the column shifts back and collides with you, but rather that the car stops and your unrestrained torso continues moving forward, colliding with the column.
No expert, but I think it is the lower part of the column that can collapse.

"Existing collapsible steering columns still consist of a long shaft that connects the steering wheel to the steering gear box. However, the collapsible design is composed of an inner and an outer sleeve, engaged tightly together witha number of steel bearings in between the sleeves. These steel bearings are pressed into the metal sleeves, and are held in place with a strong safety resin, which is designed to harden and then shatter when a specific level of pressure is applied. In the event of a frontal impact, the steel bearings between the sleeves break free, allowing the inner sleeve to be moved further into the outer sleeve in telescopic fashion before enough pressure is achieved to ram the whole steering column into the driver. In this manner, the energy received through a frontal impact is completely absorbed by the steering column‟s collapsible parts."
http://www.ijirst.org/articles/IJIRSTV2I5036.pdf
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