Title: A coupled human body model for lower extremity injury prediction in car-to-pedestrian collisions

Authors: Bingyu Wang; Yao Yang; Xiange Meng; He Wu; Zhi Xiao

Addresses: School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, Xiamen University of Technology, Xiamen, 361024, China ' School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, Xiamen University of Technology, Xiamen, 361024, China ' The Natural Resources and Planning Bureau of Yanggu County, Liaocheng, 252300, China ' Pen-Tung Sah Institute of Micro-Nano Science and Technology, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361102, China ' Key Laboratory of Advanced Design and Manufacturing Technology for Vehicle, Hunan University, Changsha, 410082, China

Abstract: In this paper, a detailed and validated human lower extremity finite element (FE) model was integrated with the upper body of a mechanical dummy FE model to develop a coupled complete human FE model. Then, a real-world pedestrian accident with detail recorded lower extremity injuries was reconstructed by using multi-body system (MBS) and coupled human FE model. Finally, the biofidelity of the coupled human finite element model was validated by comparing the kinematic response and the severity of lower extremity injuries in post collision period. The findings demonstrate a high consistency in kinematic responses between pedestrian multi-body model and coupled FE model in the selected accident. A coupled human model can accurately predict lower extremity long bone fractures and ligament injuries of victim in accident reconstruction. The coupled FE model can be utilised for predicting pedestrian lower extremity injuries in traffic accidents and applied to the development of virtual assessment technology for lower extremity protection.

Keywords: couple; lower extremity; injury prediction; accident reconstruction.

DOI: 10.1504/IJVSMT.2024.144099

International Journal of Vehicle Systems Modelling and Testing, 2024 Vol.18 No.4, pp.355 - 370

Received: 05 Sep 2024
Accepted: 13 Nov 2024
Published online: 27 Jan 2025 *

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