Influence of pedestrian head surrogate and boundary conditions on head injury risk prediction

The objective of the present work is to investigate the influence of head models and boundary conditions on the head response in the case of pedestrian accidents. Simulations have been carried out, regarding results both in terms of global parameters and more detailed intracerebral mechanical parameters. Three head models have been used (ISO headform, Hybrid III head and ULP head Finite Element Model) for these simulations, either considered as isolated heads or coupled with the whole body. It was shown that inertial properties of Hybrid III head are closed to the human head, which strongly influences rotational acceleration and also intracerebral shearing. When coupled to the whole body, it appeared that initial car bonnet deformation induced by shoulder or back leads to dramatic head loading. As a whole, the results obtained demonstrate the necessity of taking into account more realistic head inertia and boundary conditions for future pedestrian head impact standard development.

[1]  Susumu Kuroda,et al.  EVALUATION OF PEDESTRIAN PROTECTION STRUCTURES USING IMPACTORS AND FULL-SCALE DUMMY TESTS , 2003 .

[2]  A. Nahum,et al.  Intracranial Pressure Dynamics During Head Impact , 1977 .

[3]  J. Prins.  Directive 2003/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council , 2006 .

[4]  Caroline Deck,et al.  Head injury prediction capability of the HIC, HIP, SIMon and ULP criteria. , 2008, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[5]  J A Newman,et al.  A proposed new biomechanical head injury assessment function - the maximum power index. , 2000, Stapp car crash journal.

[6]  Claude Tarriere,et al.  Development of a F.E.M. of the human head according to a specific test protocol , 1992 .

[7]  Ho-Sung Kang,et al.  Three-Dimensional Human Head Finite-Element Model Validation Against Two Experimental Impacts , 1999, Annals of Biomedical Engineering.

[8]  Luis Martínez,et al.  Stiffness Corridors of the European Fleet for Pedestrian Simulations , 2007 .

[9]  Philippe Vezin,et al.  Development of a Set of Numerical Human Models for Safety , 2005 .

[10]  Yutaka Okamoto,et al.  Pedestrian Head Impact Conditions Depending on the Vehicle Front Shape and Its Construction--Full Model Simulation , 2003, Traffic injury prevention.

[11]  Rolf H. Eppinger,et al.  COMPUTATIONAL ANALYSIS OF HEAD IMPACT RESPONSE UNDER CAR CRASH LOADINGS , 1995 .

[12]  Rémy Willinger,et al.  Validation of a 3D Anatomic Human Head Model and Replication of Head Impact in Motorcycle Accident by Finite Element Modeling , 1997 .

[13]  Caroline Deck,et al.  Influence of rotational acceleration on intracranial mechanical parameters under accidental circumstances , 2007 .

[14]  King H. Yang,et al.  A proposed injury threshold for mild traumatic brain injury. , 2004, Journal of biomechanical engineering.

[15]  D. J. Thomas,et al.  Biomechanics of skull fracture. , 1995, Journal of neurotrauma.

[16]  L Zhang,et al.  Recent advances in brain injury research: a new human head model development and validation. , 2001, Stapp car crash journal.

[17]  J W Melvin,et al.  Finite element model study of head impact based on Hybrid III head acceleration: the effects of rotational and translational acceleration. , 1995, Journal of biomechanical engineering.