Citation

Thollon L, Behr M, Cavallero C, Brunet PC. Int. J. Crashworthiness 2002; 7(3): 269-284.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2002, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The aim of this work is to understand the behaviour of the thoracic member (shoulder and arm) in case of side impact in motor vehicle accidents, and to identify tolerance criteria for this body region. In order to describe the dynamics involved in such impacts, and to focus on injuries mechanisms, a finite element model of the thoracic member was developed and validated with 3 Post Mortem Human Surrogates (PMHS). The geometry of the whole model was obtained from serial sections of a PMHS in driving position. It includes compact bones, ligaments, muscles and connective tissues, described with either shells, solids or spring elements. Concerning mechanical behaviour, bones and soft tissues are considered respectively as elastoplastic and viscoelastic materials. Numerical interfaces were also defined to model contacts between all components. The model was then integrated in a complete human model. Validation consisted of performing 6 subsystems tests (impactor) on instrumented PMHS placed in a car cockpit: a lateral load (37 kg at 7.55 m/s) was applied directly on the shoulder. Displacements and acceleration of bones, as well as applied loads were measured. After each trial, a dissection was done to identify any injury on bones or ligaments.

Language: en