Testing of bicycle helmets for preadolescents

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Klug, Corina¹; Feist, Florian¹; Tomasch, Ernst¹

Testing of bicycle helmets for preadolescents

Proceedings of the 2015 International IRCOBI Conference on the Biomechanics of Injury

Affiliations

¹Vehicle Safety Institute at Graz University of Technology, Austria
Abstract and keywords

This study aims to provide guidelines for a helmet testing procedure especially designed for preadolescents which also takes incorrect use (misuse) into consideration. Based on recommendations from literature, helmets were first tested using a headform with flexible skin, and an add-on mass/inertia to account for the neck. Tests were performed at 6.5 m/s against a 30 degree anvil, both frontally and laterally, in an ideal and a real positioning (misuse) of the helmet. Second, a validated numerical model of one of the tested helmets was established. A parameter study was performed to expand the data of the experimental study. Experiments and simulations were evaluated by applying eleven head injury criteria and, if available, by considering the underlying injury risk curves. Selected tests were also evaluated with the THUMS v4.0 5th percentile female (AF05) head.

The study shows that the approach to adjust mass and inertia of the impactor such to replicate the effect of the neck in oblique impact seems feasible. The study once again indicates the importance of friction: Therefore, the headforŵ͛s skin should replicate frictional properties very well. The numerical study proved that the impact against a 30 degree anvil is a reasonable choice, maximising almost all criteria. Numerical and experimental studies show that misuse has no detrimental effect on impact protection performance.

Keywords: bicycle helmet testing, head injury criteria, preadolescents, FE helmet model
Links

URL: http://www.ircobi.org/downloads/irc15/pdf_files/24.pdf

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Cited By (10)

Year	Entry
2016	Fahlstedt M, Halldin P, Alvarez VS, Kleiven S. Influence of the body and neck on head kinematics and brain injury risk in bicycle accident situations. In: Proceedings of the 2016 International IRCOBI Conference on the Biomechanics of Injury. September 14-16, 2016; Malaga, Spain.459-478.
2016	Feist F, Klug C. A numerical study on the influence of the upper body and neck on head kinematics in tangential bicycle helmet impact. In: Proceedings of the 2016 International IRCOBI Conference on the Biomechanics of Injury. September 14-16, 2016; Malaga, Spain.162-184.
2017	Deck C, Bourdet N, Halldin P, DeBruyne G, Willinger R. Protection capability of bicycle helmets under oblique impact assessed with two separate brain FE models. In: Proceedings of the 2017 International IRCOBI Conference on the Biomechanics of Injury. September 13-15, 2017; Antwerp, Belgium.190-200.
2018	Bland ML, McNally C, Rowson S. Headform and neck effects on dynamic response in bicycle helmet oblique impact testing. In: Proceedings of the 2018 International IRCOBI Conference on the Biomechanics of Injury. September 12-14, 2018; Athens, Greece.413-423.
2018	Meng S, Fahlstedt M, Halldin P. The effect of impact velocity angle on helmeted head impact severity: a rationale for motorcycle helmet impact test design. In: Proceedings of the 2018 International IRCOBI Conference on the Biomechanics of Injury. September 12-14, 2018; Athens, Greece.454-469.
2020	Whyte T, Cripton P, Bilston L, Brown J. Fit and positioning of bicycle helmets for children. In: Proceedings of the 2020 International IRCOBI Conference on the Biomechanics of Injury. 2020; Munich, Germany.321-322.
2021	Smit S, Trauner-Karner J, Nader M, Kofler D, Erlinger N, Feist F, Klug C. Investigation of injury mechanisms in sledging accidents involving children and adults. In: Proceedings of the 2021 International IRCOBI Conference on the Biomechanics of Injury. September 8-10, 2021; Online.626-649.
2019	Meng S. Towards Improved Motorcycle Helmet Test Methods for Head Impact Protection: Using Experimental and Numerical Methods [PhD thesis]. Huddinge, Sweden: KTH Royal Institute of Technology; 2019.
2017	Yu HY. A Laboratory Study on the Effect of Helmet Fit on Biomechanical Measures of Head and Neck Injury in Simulated Impact [Master's thesis]. Edmonton, AB: University of Alberta; 2017.
2019	Bland ML. Assessing the Efficacy of Bicycle Helmets in Reducing Risk of Head Injury [PhD thesis]. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; March 28, 2019.