Effects of vehicle impact velocity and front-end structure on the dynamic responses of child pedestrians

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Liu, Xuejun¹; Yang, Jikuang¹

Effects of vehicle impact velocity and front-end structure on the dynamic responses of child pedestrians

Proceedings of the 2002 International IRCOBI Conference on the Biomechanics of Impact

Affiliations

¹Crash Safety Division, Chalmers University of Technology 412 96, Göteborg, Sweden
Abstract and keywords

To investigate the effects of vehicle impact velocity and front-end structure on the dynamic responses of child pedestrians, an extensive parametric study was carried out by using four mathematical models including 3-, 6-, 9- and 15-year-old children. Within the parametric study, the impact velocity was varied from 30 to 40 km/h, while the geometric parameters and mechanical properties of vehicle front structure were varied to represent a variety of modern passenger cars. Effects and interactions of various factors were evaluated in terms of crucial injury parameters concerning head, chest, pelvis and lower extremity.

The results from factorial analysis indicate that head and lower extremity are at higher injury risks than other body regions. The actual injury distribution of a child pedestrian varies significantly with body size. Therefore, in order to appropriately characterize the dynamic responses of children, another elder child model between 9 to 15 years old has to be taken into account, together with the 6year-old child.

Vehicle impact velocity is of the most significant effect on the injury risks of child pedestrians. A remarkable reduction of injury severity was observed as the impact velocity decreases from 40 to 30 km/h. Design parameters of vehicle front-end structures impose different effects on the dynamic responses of child pedestrians. Some conflicting effects have to be balanced in order to mitigate the injury risks of children across a wide age range.

Keywords: Child Pedestrian; Parametric Study; Impact Velocity; Vehicle Front-end Structure

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