Title: Validation of a biofidelic LS-DYNA model and comparison vs. a traditional ATD finite element model for assessing knee-thigh-hip injuries

Authors: C. Silvestri, D. Heath, T. Ruparel, M.H. Ray

Addresses: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 100 Institute Road, Worcester, MA 01609, USA. ' Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 100 Institute Road, Worcester, MA 01609, USA. ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 100 Institute Road, Worcester, MA 01609, USA. ' Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 100 Institute Road, Worcester, MA 01609, USA

Abstract: An enhanced Finite Element (FE) model of the human Knee-Thigh-Hip (KTH) is presented as a reliable mean for prediction of bone failure mechanism for a frontal knee impact. Improvements made to the original model are reported. The model is validated against a cadaver sled test. An identical finite element impact event was replicated with use of the LSTC dummy. The main terms of comparison were the axial femur force and the possibility to locate a potential bone fracture in the lower extremity. The KTH model gave more reliable results than the dummy model in terms of fracture prediction.

Keywords: KTH; knee injuries; thigh injuries; hip injuries; finite element method; FEM; flesh modelling; impact crashworthiness; dummy modelling; bone failure; frontal knee impact; axial femur force; bone fracture; fracture prediction; vehicle safety.

DOI: 10.1504/IJVS.2010.035317

International Journal of Vehicle Safety, 2010 Vol.5 No.1, pp.21 - 34

Published online: 21 Sep 2010 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article