The NCAC operates the Federal Outdoor Impact Laboratory (FOIL) at the FHWA's Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center in McLean, Virginia. FOIL is a state-of-the-art crash test facility designed to run full-scale tests involving automobiles, trucks and road-side structures. Through live crash testing, the NCAC can analyze impacts of instrumented vehicles into roadside hardware; vehicle-to-vehicle head-on collisions; frontal offset impacts; front-to-side and front-to-rear impacts with the second vehicle being stationary; as well as roof crush drop tests.
These crash tests help develop and improve roadside safety hardware, evaluate highway safety systems for federal requirement compliance, and provide data to validate NCAC's computer simulations. And because NCAC has the capability to conduct FE simulations prior to the live crash testing, the simulation data is often used to design the test fixtures and set optimal test requirements, including impact speed and angle.
FOIL's propulsion system accelerates a 2,000 kg (4,400 lb.) vehicle to speeds up to 120 km/h (75 mph) and an 8,000 kg (17,600 lb.) vehicle to speeds up to 80 km/h (50 mph). The vehicles are accelerated on a 67-meter (220 ft.) runway with a 110-meter (360 ft.) runoff area. Additional FOIL capabilities include:
- A pendulum test device that simulates vehicle impacts into poles, posts and other breakaway support structures. The pendulum is also used for component testing to provide data that can be input into FE models. It can simulate both large (2,000 kg or 4,400 lb.) and small (820 kg or 1,800 lb.) vehicle weights.
- A surrogate vehicle (Bogie) with a crushable aluminum honeycomb nose to simulate vehicles' crush characteristics. The Bogie is also used as a deceleration sled (or a reusable test device) for component testing.
- An instrumented rigid pole with up to eight load cells for front- and side-impact tests into trees and large utility poles.
NCAC's crash test facility is undergoing a major expansion. The new state-of-the-art facility will be located at GW's Virginia Campus and will increase FOIL's capabilities significantly. In addition to its current capabilities, the new facility will incorporate:
- An indoor, fully instrumented, rigid barrier for full-frontal and offset tests
- Front- and side-impact film pits with transparent covers for under-carriage film views
- A sophisticated lighting system to help produce superior high-speed film for all crash tests
- A sled system for dynamic testing of automotive components
- A fully enclosed roadside appurtenance test and runoff area for highway and infrastructure safety testing
- Vehicle rollover testing with a tripping mechanism
- Vehicle-to-vehicle head-on and front-offset testing with two moving vehicles
- Immersive video technology that provides a 180-degree view
