Three new full-time lab technicians and a new full-time lab manager, Chad Gadberry, have been hired in order for the lab to start offering extended hours when needed.
“In the past we’ve had to turn away clients who need to get in during a particular timeframe,” said Lab Director Joseph Mitchell.
Now the lab has the capability to run eighteen-hour days.
As part of the January 2005 upgrade the lab received a new MTS accelerator sled, which has the capability to replicate any type of crash pulse.
“It’s one of the best you can get in the industry,” Gadberry said.
Currently the lab performs research, testing and certification on aircraft and aircraft components, air bags, child safety seats and other various components. It is also equipped to perform automotive, handicap mobility, railroad passenger car and marine passenger vessel testing.
“In addition to serving the aviation industry, we hope to push into commercial automotive research and testing,” Mitchell said.
The lab provides a facility for secure proprietary research, testing and certification of aircraft and non-aviation components under dynamic impact (simulated crash) conditions. The state-of-the-art servo-hydraulic crash simulator reaches speeds of 81 km/h (50mph) with a 1,500 kg (3300 lbm) payload and adjusts impact pulse peak profiles to match clients' needs up to 65 g’s (75 g’s with a 1000 kg (2200 lbm) payload).
In addition to the sophisticated data acquisition system, NIAR uses a high-resolution, high-speed digital video system that captures 10,000 frames per second. For surrogate occupants, Hybrid II, Hyprid III and EuroSID II anthropomorphic test dummies are used.
New employees hired for NIAR crash lab
Crash lab staf from left to right: Velvet Hutson, Wesley Henderson, Brett Hart, Andrew Mackey, Gerardo Olivares, Chad Gadberry, Joseph Mitchell.
As part of an effort to increase business in its crash dynamics laboratory, the National Institute for Aviation Research has hired five new employees for the lab.
They include crash dynamics research scientist Dr. Gerardo Olivares, crash dynamics laboratory manager Chad Gadberry and crash dynamics lab technicians Wesley Henderson, Brett Hart and Andrew Mackey.
Dr. Olivares is a Wichita State University graduate with a bachelor’s and master’s degree in aerospace engineering. He also received his doctorate in mechanical engineering from Wichita State in 2001. He has ten years of experience in computational and experimental crashworthiness, and will be responsible for conducting research for the crash dynamics lab.
Prior to joining NIAR, Dr. Olivares worked in Frankfurt, Germany as a Systems Performance Engineering Manager for a tier-1 automotive supplier. He was involved in the safety system development process (CAE, component, sled and crash testing) of various automotive platforms. In previous positions has worked on projects such as the development of inflatable restraint systems. He has authored and co-authored several publications in the areas of experimental and computational crashworthiness.
Dr. Olivares and the crash dynamics laboratory are currently involved in a two-year project with the Federal Transit Authority investigating the crashworthiness structural behavior of mass transit vehicles and the assessment of the biomechanical occupant performance.
Gadberry previously worked for MGA Research Corporation from 1998 to 2004 where he managed a crash sled laboratory that did aviation and automotive testing. He has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Milwaukee School of Engineering.
Gadberry will oversee testing and operations to assure tests run smoothly, supervise the crash dynamics lab technicians and act as a contact person for clients. Gadberry said he hopes to expand the lab’s client base by focusing on the lab’s capabilities and the expertise of the staff.
“This facility is very unique in its experimental and analytical capabilties," he said. "We are all excited about the possibilities for the future."
