Evaluation of an active multi-body human model for braking and frontal crash events

Meijer, Riske<sup>1</sup>; Elrofai, Hala<sup>1</sup>; Broos, Jeroen<sup>1</sup>; van Hassel, Edwin<sup>2</sup>

Active safety systems that start to act moments before the crash might be capable of anticipating the occupant’s position, either by correcting it, or by taking the out-of-position into account. For the development and evaluation of such active safety systems, recently a run-time efficient multidirectional computer human model that can simulate active as well as passive human behaviour has been developed. The objective of this study was to evaluate this so-called active human model for simulations of braking followed by a frontal crash.

Simulations of published PMHS blunt frontal impact tests on the head, thorax, and abdomen showed that the model is capable of predicting the PMHS peak responses within 20% deviation from the PMHS response corridors. Here, the active behaviour was switched off. Simulations of published 1 g to 15 g full-body frontal impact tests with belted volunteers showed that the model is capable of predicting the volunteer peak responses within 20% deviation from the volunteer response corridors. Here, values for the unknown parameters reaction time and level of bracing in the neck (cocontraction of neck muscles) were assumed.

Also, simulations with the active human model in a car interior to which high severity impacts were applied (pulses from Euro NCAP car-barrier frontal impact tests), with and without preceding braking as well as with active behaviour switched on and switched off were performed. The results of these simulations showed that the model is robust and sensitive to effects of braking and active behaviour, and the effects of braking on the injury values are dominant over the effects of the active behaviour itself. However, the active behaviour is indispensable for correct simulation of the human pre-crash kinematics.

From this study it was concluded that the current active human model is capable of simulating realistic human full-body kinematics as well as realistic injury values for the head and the thorax in one single simulation of braking followed by a frontal crash. As such, the current active human model can be used for evaluating the effectiveness of active safety systems in frontal impacts.

Year

Entry

2012

Meijer R, van Hassel E, Broos J, Elrofai H, van Rooij L, van Hooijdonk P. Development of a multi‐body human model that predicts active and passive human behaviour. In: Proceedings of the 2012 International IRCOBI Conference on the Biomechanics of Injury. September 12-14, 2012; Dublin, Ireland.622-636.

2011

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2011

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1976

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1995

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