Industrial head injuries and the performance of helmets

Hulme, A.; Mills, N. J.; Gilchrist, A.

The types of head and neck injuries in industrial accidents are reviewed, and the causes classified. It is found that concussion rather than neck fracture is the most common injury, yet the test criterion in the European standard appears to be for neck fracture. A modified car-crash dummy with a flexible neck was used to evaluate the linear and rotational accelerations in typical industrial accidents. Oblique impacts are the most frequent, and these can cause high angular rotations of the head. Helmets containing foam liners provide better protection against skull fractures than the traditional industrial hard-hat with a suspension cradle. The“ connection between the kinetic energies of survivable accidents and the 50 J energy in the European standard is investigated.

Year

Entry

1986

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1994

Meaney DF, Thibault LE, Gennarelli TA. Rotational brain injury tolerance criteria as a function of vehicle crash parameters. In: Proceedings of the 1994 International IRCOBI Conference on the Biomechanics of Impact. September 21-23, 1994; Lyon, France.51-62.

1994

Gilchrist A, Mills NJ. Protection of the side of the head. In: Proceedings of the 1994 International IRCOBI Conference on the Biomechanics of Impact. September 21-23, 1994; Lyon, France.81-94.

1986

Chamouard F, Tarriere C, Got C, Guillon F, Patel A, Hureau J. Relationship between some biomechanical and dimensional characteristics of the skull and the risk of cerebral injuries. In: Proceedings of the 1986 International IRCOBI Conference on the Biomechanics of Impact. September 2-4, 1986; Zurich, Switzerland.133-152.

1989

Pintar FA, Yoganandan N, Sances A Jr, Reinartz J, Harris G, Larson SJ. Kinematic and anatomical analysis of the human cervical spinal column under axial loading. In: Proceedings of the 33rd Stapp Car Crash Conference. October 4-6, 1989; Washington, DC. Warrendale, PA: Society of Automotive Engineers:191-214. SAE 892436.

1987

Patrick LM. Neck injury incidence, mechanisms and protection. In: 31st Annual Proceedings, Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM). September 28-30, 1987; New Orleans, LA.409-431.