MATHEMATICAL MODELLING OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF HELMETS IN HEAD PROTECTION ---PROCEEDINGS OF THE 1988 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON THE BIOMECHANICS OF IMPACTS, HELD IN BERGISCH-GLADBACH (FRG), 14-16 SEPTEMBER 1988.

Computer models were developed for impacts on both industrial safety and motorcycle helmets. In these the masses of the helmet shell were assumed to act at a point and to move along one axis, whereas bending of the shell was modelled by springs plus dampers. When the model parameters were calculated from the measured behaviour of helmet elements, the predictions were in good agreement with theory. High speed photography confirmed the interpretation of impact events.(a) for the covering abstract of the conference see IRRD 817576.