Overview
ISO 6487:2015 - Road vehicles: Measurement techniques in impact tests - Instrumentation specifies mandatory requirements and practical recommendations for instrumentation used in vehicle impact (crash) testing. The standard defines the measurement chain from transducers to data analysis, harmonizes practices (including alignment with SAE J211‑1), and helps testing laboratories produce comparable, traceable impact-test data. Optical methods are excluded (see ISO 8721).
Key topics and technical requirements
- Data channel concepts: defines a data channel (transducer plus conditioning, acquisition and any filtering/analysis) and classifications such as Channel Frequency Class (CFC) and Channel Amplitude Class (CAC).
- Frequency response & filtering: prescribes limiting curves for CFCs (e.g., CFC 60, 180, 600, 1000) and requires frequency-response verification and calibration. Annex A provides a Butterworth four‑pole phaseless digital filter algorithm example.
- Linearity and calibration: non‑linearity across the channel frequency class shall be ≤ 2.5% of CAC. Defines sensitivity, sensitivity coefficient, calibration factor, and calibration procedures and uncertainties.
- Timing & phase: requires determination of channel phase delay; phase delay time must be stable (e.g., not vary by more than 1/(10·F_H) s across a specified band). Timebase requirements: a minimum resolution of 0.01 s with accuracy of 1% or better; relative time delay between channels limited (typically ≤ 1 ms, excluding phase shift).
- Transducer characteristics: addresses transverse sensitivity ratios for rectilinear sensors and cross‑sensitivity considerations for force/moment transducers.
- Environmental & ATD temperature: includes environmental effects on measurement and specifies performance requirements for anthropomorphic test device (ATD) temperature measurement (see Annex C and ISO/TR 27957).
- Documentation & comparability: intent is to enable reproducible, comparable results between laboratories; Annex B offers recommendations to help meet requirements.
Applications and users
ISO 6487:2015 is used by:
- Automotive test laboratories and OEM safety teams conducting crash and impact tests (full vehicles and subassemblies)
- Regulatory bodies and certification agencies that need consistent instrumentation specifications
- Researchers and forensic engineers analyzing impact data quality and measurement uncertainty
- Suppliers of data acquisition systems, accelerometers, force transducers, and ATD instrumentation for crash testing
Related standards (selected)
Keywords: ISO 6487:2015, instrumentation, impact tests, crash testing, data channel, CFC, CAC, calibration, phase delay, ATD temperature, vehicle safety testing.
