Brain strains in vehicle impact tests

wbldb

Zhang, Jiangyue^1,2; Yoganandan, Narayan^1,2; Pintar, Frank A.^1,2; Gennarelli, Thomas A.^1,2

Brain strains in vehicle impact tests

50th Annual Proceedings, Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM)

Affiliations

¹Department of Neurosurgery, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI

²VA Medical Center, Milwaukee, WI
Abstract

The purpose of this research was to use vehicle impact test data and parametric finite element analysis to study the contribution of translational accelerations (TransAcc) and rotational accelerations (RotAcc) on strain-induced head injuries. Acceleration data were extracted from 33 non-contact vehicle crash tests conducted by the US Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. A human finite element head model was exercised using head accelerations from the nine accelerometer package placed inside the driver dummy in these tests. Three scenarios were parameterized: both TransAcc and RotAcc, only TransAcc, and only RotAcc to demonstrate the contribution of these accelerations on brain injury. Brain strains at multiple elements, cumulative strain damage, dilatation damage, and relative motion damage data were compared. Rotational accelerations contributed to more than 80% of the brain strain. Other injury metrics also supported this finding. These findings did not depend on the crash mode, peak amplitude of translational acceleration (29 to 120 g), peak amplitude of rotational acceleration (1.3 to 9.4 krad/s2) or HIC (68-778). Rotational accelerations appeared to be the major cause of strain-induced brain injury.

Cited Works (16)

Year	Entry
1982	Gennarelli TA, Thibault LE, Adams JH, Graham DI, Thompson CJ, Marcincin RP. Diffuse axonal injury and traumatic coma in the primate. Ann Neurol. 1982;12(6):564-574.
1981	Gennarelli TA, Adams JH, Graham DI. Acceleration induced head-injury in the monkey, I: the model, its biomechanical and physiological correlates. Acta Neuropathol Suppl. 1981;7:23-25.
1994	Bandak FA, Eppinger RH. A three-dimensional finite element analysis of the human brain under combined rotational and translational accelerations. In: Proceedings of the 38th Stapp Car Crash Conference. October 31–November 2, 1994; Fort Lauderdale, FL. Warrendale, PA: Society of Automotive Engineers:145-163. SAE 942215.
2003	Anderson RWG, Brown CJ, Blumbergs PC, McLean AJ, Jones NR. Impact mechanics and axonal injury in a sheep model. J Neurotrauma. October 2003;20(10):961-974.
1961	Strich SJ. Shearing of nerve fibres as a cause of brain damage due to head injury: a pathological study of twenty cases. Lancet. August 26, 1961;278(7200):443-448.
1995	DiMasi FP, Eppinger RH, Bandak FA. Computational analysis of head impact response under car crash loadings. In: Proceedings of the 39th Stapp Car Crash Conference. November 8-10, 1995; San Diego, CA. Warrendale, PA: Society of Automotive Engineers:425-438. SAE 952718.
1995	Meaney DF, Smith DH, Shreiber DI, Bain AC, Miller RT, Ross DT, Gennarelli TA. Biomechanical analysis of experimental diffuse axonal injury. J Neurotrauma. November 1995;12(4):689-694.
1995	Zhou C, Khalil TB, King AI. A new model comparing impact responses of the homogeneous and inhomogeneous human brain. In: Proceedings of the 39th Stapp Car Crash Conference. November 8-10, 1995; San Diego, CA. Warrendale, PA: Society of Automotive Engineers:121-137. SAE 952714.
1997	Maxwell WL, Povlishock JT, Graham DL. A mechanistic analysis of nondisruptive axonal injury: a review. J Neurotrauma. January 1997;14(7):419-440.
2001	Hardy WN, Foster CD, Mason MJ, Yang KH, King AI, Tashman S. Investigation of head injury mechanisms using neutral density technology and high-speed biplanar x-ray. Stapp Car Crash J. 2001;45:337-368. SAE 2001-22-0016.
2004	Zhang L, Yang KH, King AI. A proposed injury threshold for mild traumatic brain injury. J Biomech Eng. 2004;126(2):226-236.
2000	Bain AC, Meaney DF. Tissue-level thresholds for axonal damage in an experimental model of central nervous system white matter injury. J Biomech Eng. December 2000;122(6):615-622.
2001	Zhang L, Yang KH, Dwarampudi R, Omori K, Li T, Chang K, Hardy WN, Khalil TB, King AI. Recent advances in brain injury research: a new human head model development and validation. Stapp Car Crash J. 2001;45:369-394. SAE 2001-22-0017.
2003	Takhounts EG, Eppinger RH, Campbell JQ, Tannous RE, Power ED, Shook LS. On the development of the SIMon finite element head model. Stapp Car Crash J. 2003;47:107-133. SAE 2003-22-0007.
1966	Gadd CW. Use of a weighted-impulse criterion for estimating injury hazard. In: Proceedings of the 10th Stapp Car Crash Conference. November 8-9, 1966; Hollomon Air Force Base, NM. Warrendale, PA: Society of Automotive Engineers:164-174. SAE 660793.
1960	Lissner HR, Lebow M, Evans FG. Experimental studies on the relation between acceleration and intracranial pressure changes in man. Surg Gynecol Obstet. September 1960;111(3):329-338.

Cited By (13)

Year	Entry
2009	Zhang J, Yoganandan N, Pintar FA. Dynamic biomechanics of the human head in lateral impacts. In: 53rd Annual Proceedings, Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM). October 5-7, 2009; Baltimore, MD.249-256.
2011	Lamy M, Baumgartner D, Willinger R, Yoganandan N, Stemper BD. Study of mild traumatic brain injuries using experiments and finite element modeling. In: 55th Annual Proceedings, Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM). October 3-5, 2011; Paris, France.125-135.
2011	Yoganandan N, Fitzharris M, Pintar FA, Stemper BD, Rinaldi J, Maiman DJ, Fildes BN. Demographics, velocity distributions, and impact type as predictors of AIS 4+ head injuries in motor vehicle crashes. In: 55th Annual Proceedings, Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM). October 3-5, 2011; Paris, France.267-280.
2007	Zhang J, Yoganandan N, Pintar FA, Guan Y, Gennarelli TA. Biomechanical differences between contact and non-contact head impacts in vehicle crash tests. In: Proceedings of the 20th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV). June 18-21, 2007; Lyon, France.
2015	Kikuchi T, Togawa A, Murakami D, Tatsu K, Pal C, Okabe T. A study of brain injury mechanisms in vehicle crashes. In: Proceedings of the 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV). June 8-11, 2015; Gothenburg, Sweden.
2015	Elkady M, Elmarakbi A, MacIntyre J. Enhancement of occupant safety in offset frontal vehicle collision: using novel mathematical modelling alongside vehicle dynamics control systems. In: Proceedings of the 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV). June 8-11, 2015; Gothenburg, Sweden.
2011	Lamy M, Baumgartner D, Yoganandan N, Willinger R. Mild traumatic brain injury in the rat: three‐dimensional finite element model using experimental data. In: Proceedings of the 2011 International IRCOBI Conference on the Biomechanics of Injury. September 14-16, 2011; Krakow, Poland.23-35.
2013	Lamy M, Baumgartner D, Davidsson J, Willinger R. Traumatic brain injury investigation using FE modeling of the rat and experimental high amplitude rotations in the sagittal plane. In: Proceedings of the 2013 International IRCOBI Conference on the Biomechanics of Injury. September 11-13, 2013; Gothenburg, Sweden.456-469.
2013	Putnam JB, Untaroiu CD. Investigation of human kinematics and risk of injury during a vertical impact using dummy and human finite element models. In: Proceedings of the 9th Ohio State University Injury Biomechanics Symposium. May 19-21, 2013; Columbus, OH.
2008	Yoganandan N, Li J, Zhang J, Pintar FA, Gennarelli TA. Influence of angular acceleration–deceleration pulse shapes on regional brain strains. J Biomech. July 19, 2008;41(10):2253-2262.
2009	Yoganandan N, Gennarelli TA, Zhang J, Pintar FA, Takhounts E, Ridella SA. Association of contact loading in diffuse axonal injuries from motor vehicle crashes. J Trauma. February 2009;66(2):309-315.
2012	Karton C. The Effect of Inbound Mass on the Dynamic Response of the Hybrid III Headform and Brain Tissue Deformation [Master's thesis]. University of Ottawa; November 2012.
2018	Taylor K. The Use of Decoupling Structures in Helmet Liners to Reduce Maximum Principal Brain Tissue Strain for Head Impacts [PhD thesis]. University of Ottawa; 2018.