Energy absorbing assembly

摘要

An energy absorbing assembly 10 is provided for decelerating an object that impacts the assembly. The assembly comprises an incident member 12 having an incident surface 14 that meets the impacting object and at least one energy absorbing member 16 attached to an attachment region 17 of an opposing face 18 of the incident member 12 for accommodating deformation of the assembly 10. The energy absorbing member 16 comprises a lattice of interconnected strands 20, wherein the strands 20 intersect to define a plurality of cells 22. The energy absorbing member 16 is oriented such that the plane of each cell 22 is substantially perpendicular to the attachment region 17 in order to maximize energy absorption over a given distance. The lattice collapses and at least some of the cells 22 become at least partially closed during energy absorption.