A finite element (FE) model of a vehicle occupant's lower limb was developed in this study to imp... more A finite element (FE) model of a vehicle occupant's lower limb was developed in this study to improve understanding of injury mechanisms during traffic crashes. The reconstructed geometry of a male volunteer close to the anthropometry of a 50th percentile male was meshed using mostly hexahedral and quadrilateral elements to enhance the computational efficiency of the model. The material and structural properties were selected based on a synthesis of current knowledge of the constitutive models for each tissue. The models of the femur, tibia, and leg were validated against Post-Mortem Human Surrogate (PMHS) data in various loading conditions which generates the bone fractures observed in traffic accidents. The model was then used to investigate the tolerances of femur and tibia under axial compression and bending. It was shown that the bending moment induced by the axial force reduced the bone tolerance significantly more under posterior-anterior (PA) loading than under anterior-posterior (AP) loading. It is believed that the current lower limb models could be used in defining advanced injury criteria of the lower limb and in various applications as an alternative to physical testing, which may require complex setups and high cost.
ABSTRACT Although not life-threatening, lower limb injuries are the most frequent injury of moder... more ABSTRACT Although not life-threatening, lower limb injuries are the most frequent injury of moderate severity (AIS 2), sustained in a vehicle crash (Pattimore et al., 1991). To better understand the injury mechanisms, several lower extremity (LEX) finite element (FE) models were developed to investigate traffic accidents involving occupants in vehicles (Yang et al., 2006). The main limitations of existing lower limb FE models are due to their geometries, the modeling approaches used to represent their components, and limited test data used for the model validation.
More than half of occupant lower extremity (LEX) injuries due to automotive frontal crashes are i... more More than half of occupant lower extremity (LEX) injuries due to automotive frontal crashes are in the knee-thigh-hip (KTH) complex. To design the injury countermeasures for the occupant LEX, first the biomechanical and injury responses of the occupant LEX components ...
More than half of occupant lower extremity (LEX) injuries during automotive frontal crashes are i... more More than half of occupant lower extremity (LEX) injuries during automotive frontal crashes are in the knee-thigh-hip (KTH) complex. The objective of this study is to develop a detailed and biofidelic finite element (FE) occupant LEX model that may improve current understanding of mechanisms and thresholds of KTH injuries. Firstly, the pelvis, thigh-knee-hip, and foot models developed in our previous studies were connected into an occupant lower limb model. Further validations, including posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) stretching, thigh lateral loading, KT, and KTH impact loading were then performed to verify the injury predictability of the model under complex frontal and lateral loading corresponding to automotive impacts. Finally, a sensitivity study was performed with the whole lower limb model to investigate the effect of the hip joint angle to acetabulum injury tolerance in frontal impacts. The whole lower limb model proved to be stable under severe impacts along the knee, foot, and lateral components. In addition, the biomechanical and injury responses predicted by the model correlated well with the corresponding test data. An increase in hip joint extension angle from -30 to +20° relative to neutral posture showed an increase of 19 to 58 percent hip injury tolerance. The stability and biofidelity response of the pelvis-lower limb (PLEX) model indicates its potential application in future frontal and lateral impact FE simulations.
A finite element (FE) model of a vehicle occupant's lower limb was developed in this study to imp... more A finite element (FE) model of a vehicle occupant's lower limb was developed in this study to improve understanding of injury mechanisms during traffic crashes. The reconstructed geometry of a male volunteer close to the anthropometry of a 50th percentile male was meshed using mostly hexahedral and quadrilateral elements to enhance the computational efficiency of the model. The material and structural properties were selected based on a synthesis of current knowledge of the constitutive models for each tissue. The models of the femur, tibia, and leg were validated against Post-Mortem Human Surrogate (PMHS) data in various loading conditions which generates the bone fractures observed in traffic accidents. The model was then used to investigate the tolerances of femur and tibia under axial compression and bending. It was shown that the bending moment induced by the axial force reduced the bone tolerance significantly more under posterior-anterior (PA) loading than under anterior-posterior (AP) loading. It is believed that the current lower limb models could be used in defining advanced injury criteria of the lower limb and in various applications as an alternative to physical testing, which may require complex setups and high cost.
ABSTRACT Although not life-threatening, lower limb injuries are the most frequent injury of moder... more ABSTRACT Although not life-threatening, lower limb injuries are the most frequent injury of moderate severity (AIS 2), sustained in a vehicle crash (Pattimore et al., 1991). To better understand the injury mechanisms, several lower extremity (LEX) finite element (FE) models were developed to investigate traffic accidents involving occupants in vehicles (Yang et al., 2006). The main limitations of existing lower limb FE models are due to their geometries, the modeling approaches used to represent their components, and limited test data used for the model validation.
More than half of occupant lower extremity (LEX) injuries due to automotive frontal crashes are i... more More than half of occupant lower extremity (LEX) injuries due to automotive frontal crashes are in the knee-thigh-hip (KTH) complex. To design the injury countermeasures for the occupant LEX, first the biomechanical and injury responses of the occupant LEX components ...
More than half of occupant lower extremity (LEX) injuries during automotive frontal crashes are i... more More than half of occupant lower extremity (LEX) injuries during automotive frontal crashes are in the knee-thigh-hip (KTH) complex. The objective of this study is to develop a detailed and biofidelic finite element (FE) occupant LEX model that may improve current understanding of mechanisms and thresholds of KTH injuries. Firstly, the pelvis, thigh-knee-hip, and foot models developed in our previous studies were connected into an occupant lower limb model. Further validations, including posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) stretching, thigh lateral loading, KT, and KTH impact loading were then performed to verify the injury predictability of the model under complex frontal and lateral loading corresponding to automotive impacts. Finally, a sensitivity study was performed with the whole lower limb model to investigate the effect of the hip joint angle to acetabulum injury tolerance in frontal impacts. The whole lower limb model proved to be stable under severe impacts along the knee, foot, and lateral components. In addition, the biomechanical and injury responses predicted by the model correlated well with the corresponding test data. An increase in hip joint extension angle from -30 to +20° relative to neutral posture showed an increase of 19 to 58 percent hip injury tolerance. The stability and biofidelity response of the pelvis-lower limb (PLEX) model indicates its potential application in future frontal and lateral impact FE simulations.
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