Title: Development and validation of a 6-year-old pedestrian thorax and abdomen finite element model and impact injury analysis

Authors: Wenle Lv; Shijie Ruan; Haiyan Li; Shihai Cui; Lijuan He

Addresses: Center for Injury Biomechanics and Vehicle Safety, Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin 30022, China ' Center for Injury Biomechanics and Vehicle Safety, Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin 30022, China ' Center for Injury Biomechanics and Vehicle Safety, Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin 30022, China ' Center for Injury Biomechanics and Vehicle Safety, Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin 30022, China ' Center for Injury Biomechanics and Vehicle Safety, Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin 30022, China

Abstract: A detailed anatomy structure finite element (FE) model of the paediatric thorax and abdomen of a 6-year-old was constructed and validated. The thoracoabdominal geometrical model, extracted from computed tomography (CT) scan images of a 6-year-old child, was divided into finite element models with different types of elements. The validity of the model was verified by reconstructing impact experiments of paediatric cadaver thorax and abdomen and comparing impact force-deformation curves, maximum viscous criterion (VC) values and tissue injuries between simulations and experiments. The simulation results showed that the thoracoabdominal impact force-deformation curves located in the experimental corridors, and the trend of the curves, was well consistent with the experimental corridors. The maximum viscous criterion values in simulations were also located in the range of experimental results. Injuries to ribs and internal organs predicted in simulations were consistent with the autopsy results. Therefore, the model can be used to study the mechanism of child pedestrians' thoracic and abdominal injury in traffic accidents.

Keywords: thorax model; abdomen model; paediatric pedestrians; finite element method; FEM; impact injuries; 6-year-olds; children; child pedestrians; modelling; computed tomography; CT scans; road traffic accidents; paediatric cadavers; impact force; deformation; viscous criterion; tissue injuries; simulation; thoracic injuries; abdominal injuries.

DOI: 10.1504/IJVS.2015.074378

International Journal of Vehicle Safety, 2015 Vol.8 No.4, pp.339 - 356

Received: 24 Sep 2015
Accepted: 19 Oct 2015

Published online: 25 Jan 2016 *

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