Biomechanical response of the lower leg under high rate loading

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Henderson, Kyvory A.¹; Bailey, Ann M.¹; Christopher, John J.¹; Brozoski, Fred²; Salzar, Robert S.¹

Biomechanical response of the lower leg under high rate loading

Proceedings of the 2013 International IRCOBI Conference on the Biomechanics of Injury

Affiliations

¹Center for Applied Biomechanics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA

²U.S. Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory, Ft. Rucker, AL
Abstract and keywords

Severe lower extremity injuries have been observed in military vehicle occupants in an underbody blast (UBB) event. Characterization of how these loading conditions, different from those seen in automobile collisions, affect the response of the lower limb provides valuable understanding of the relevant injury mechanisms from a UBB. This study investigates the effect of a high‐rate axial load to post‐mortem human surrogates’ (PMHS) lower extremities. Eighteen PMHS were tested on a drop‐tower test fixture designed to simulate the occupant loading environment and an unconstrained knee boundary condition. Strain‐time histories found on the lateral and medial sides of the tibia showed inhomogeneous deformation patterns along the length of bone. The response of the lower leg to high rate loading showed significant local stiffness at the distal tibia‐fibula region k₁ = 2028.38 ± 525.02kN/m and k₂ = 9058.35 ± 2043kN/m. The 50% survivability for lower extremities subject to these loads and load rates was calculated at 7.7kN for the distal tibia and 6.8kN for the proximal tibia. Additionally, an analytical three‐mass model of the lower leg was developed for the tested condition and the predicted model fit compared to the measured response.

Keywords: High rate loading, lower extremity injuries, underbody blast
Links

URL: http://www.ircobi.org/downloads/irc13/pdf_files/24.pdf

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Cited By (17)

Year	Entry
2014	Perry BJ, Gabler L, Bailey A, Henderson K, Brozoski F, Salzar RS. Lower extremity characterization and injury mitigation. In: Proceedings of the 2014 International IRCOBI Conference on the Biomechanics of Injury. September 10-12, 2014; Berlin, Germany.186-197.
2014	Bailey AM, Panzer MB, Salzar RS. Development of a transfer function for interpreting Hybrid‐III lower leg data from axial loading. In: Proceedings of the 2014 International IRCOBI Conference on the Biomechanics of Injury. September 10-12, 2014; Berlin, Germany.213-223.
2014	Alai AL, Salzar RS. Measurement of force in IED vehicle interactions. In: Proceedings of the 2014 International IRCOBI Conference on the Biomechanics of Injury. September 10-12, 2014; Berlin, Germany.785-795.
2014	Gabler LF, Panzer MB, Salzar RS. High‐rate mechanical properties of human heel pad for simulation of a blast loading condition. In: Proceedings of the 2014 International IRCOBI Conference on the Biomechanics of Injury. September 10-12, 2014; Berlin, Germany.796-808.
2016	Grigoriadis G, Carpanen D, Bull AMJ, Masouros SD. A finite element model of the foot and ankle for prediction of injury in under‐body blast. In: Proceedings of the 2016 International IRCOBI Conference on the Biomechanics of Injury. September 14-16, 2016; Malaga, Spain.457-458.
2018	Rebelo E, Grigoriadis G, Carpanen D, Masouros S. Protection of the foot and ankle in under‐body blast. In: Proceedings of the 2018 International IRCOBI Conference on the Biomechanics of Injury. September 12-14, 2018; Athens, Greece.756-757.
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2017	Gabler LF. Development of Improved Metrics for Predicting Brain Strain in Diverse Impacts [PhD thesis]. Charlottesville, VA: University of Virginia; December 2017.
2018	Cristino DM. Lower Extremity Biomechanical Response of Female and Male Post-Mortem Human Surrogates to High-Rate Vertical Loading During Simulated Under-Body Blast Events [PhD thesis]. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; December 13, 2018.
2020	Ceritano DW. Sex-Based Differences in Calcaneal Injury Tolerances Under High-Rate Loading [Master's thesis]. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; May 22, 2020.