The University of Adelaide CENTRE FOR AUTOMOTIVE SAFETY RESEARCH

home   /   centre for automotive safety research   /   Publications   /   List   /   Details

Publication Details

TitleValidation of the human head FE model against pedestrian accidents and its tentative application to the examination of the existing tolerance curve
AuthorsDokko Y, Anderson RWG, Manavis J, Blumbergs PC, McLean AJ, Zhang L, Yang KH, King AI
Year2003
TypeConference Paper
AbstractThe existing head injury criterion (HIC) is based on translational accelerations of the center of gravity of the head, while the importance of the rotational motion has been discussed over decades. Although most previous studies to establish injury criteria have depended on cadaveric, human volunteer or animal experiments, ever-progressing computing techniques both in software and hardware are making such studies possible using virtual experiments by FE simulation. In reality, however, such simulation models must be fully validated against a real human body before they can be used for such studies, and these validations depend on the tests using animal and human material.

In this paper, another approach to validate a human head FE model is introduced. Two cases of pedestrian accidents were selected from the accident database of the Road Accident Research Unit of the University of Adelaide and were reconstructed using a combination of physical testing and a FE model of the pedestrian/vehicle collision. The results of the FE model of the head were compared with the neuropathology of the actual victims to see if such an index as maximum principal strain was a correlate of the location and severity of injury. After a comparison between the results of the model and the neuropathology was made, a tentative application of the model was tried. A parametric study on translational acceleration and duration time was performed and the relationship between the simulated brain conditions and the existing head tolerance curve (WSUTC) were discussed. Finally, additional simulations where pure rotational motions were applied to the model showed the likelihood of injuries from these motions alone. From this, the need for a criterion that considers both translational and rotational motions

was suggested.

PublisherMira CD-ROM Digital Publishing Inc.
SponsorNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of Japan
Conference Name18th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles
Conference AbbreviationESV
Conference LocationNagoya, Japan
Conference Date19-22 May 2003
Page Count13
Noteshttp://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/esv/esv18/cd/files/18ESV-000322.pdf

Reference
Dokko Y, Anderson RWG, Manavis J, Blumbergs PC, McLean AJ, Zhang L, Yang KH, King AI (2003). Validation of the human head FE model against pedestrian accidents and its tentative application to the examination of the existing tolerance curve. 18th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles, Nagoya, Japan, 19-22 May 2003.