Mercedes uses X-ray images for crash tests

Mercedes is investigating the crash behavior of the C-Class using X-rays. (Photo: Mercedes-Benz)

Mercedes wants to make cars safer with X-ray technology. Swabians say they are the first manufacturer in the world to crash test real cars with X-rays. This technology aims to provide a better view of the internal deformation processes and the microprocesses involved Make the distortion transparent. At the premiere, a C-Class sedan underwent a side impact test.

In the crash test, developed by Mercedes in cooperation with the Fraunhofer Institute for Short-Term Dynamics, a linear accelerator with 1 kHz technology was used, which can be used to examine all materials used in the construction of the car. During a crash test, X-rays scan the body and dummies from above, taking about 1,000 images per second. In an actual impact time of about a tenth of a second, 100 images were taken. According to Mercedes, it was possible to observe, among other things, how the doll's chest was pressed or one of its components was deformed.

To ensure that employees at the testing facility were not harmed, extensive physical protective measures had to be taken. This includes an additional 40cm thick concrete wall around the building and a radiation protection door weighing approximately 45 tons.