Dynamic Performance of Neck Protection Devices: Performance Analysis Based on a Simplified Multibody Model of the Human Neck

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Massimiliano Gobbi ◽  
Gianpiero Mastinu ◽  
Giorgio Previati ◽  
Ermes Tarallo
Keyword(s):  
Soft Tissues ◽  
Mechanical Response ◽  
Dynamic Performance ◽  
Safety Devices ◽  
Anatomy And Physiology ◽  
Multibody Model ◽  
Impulsive Loads ◽  
Protection Devices ◽  
Safety Systems ◽  
Deformation System

This work is focused on the evaluation of the dynamic performance of different neck protection devices. In order to evaluate the mechanical response of the safety devices, a multibody model of the human neck has been developed in Matlab™ SimMechanics™. The mechanical behavior of the neck is described in the paper and different injury indices are presented and compared. The information about anatomy and physiology of the cervical spine of the neck has been collected from the literature, with particular focus on the mechanism of damage of vertebrae, disks and soft tissues. The multibody model has been validated against experimental data available in the literature concerning impulsive loads representative of crash phenomena. By means of the presented model, some relevant injury indices are computed for an accident involving a motorcyclist. Since the focus has been set on mild injuries of the neck, the simulated crash should cause a high probability of injuries of the neck together with a low probability of damages of the head while wearing a standard helmet. The performance of neck safety devices that link the helmet with the thoracic-shield are evaluated and compared. For sake of clearness, three types of neck safety devices are considered referencing to US patents: an airbag jacket, a 3D cushion wrapping the motorcyclist’s neck, and a “spring and dampers” system. The airbag jacket has been modeled as a high stiffness and low deformation system by considering the airbag in its fully deployed configuration and by neglecting its dynamic performance during inflation phase. The other safety devices have been modeled as lumped parameters spring-damper systems. A sensitivity analysis on the injury indexes has been performed by changing the stiffness and the damping parameters of these safety systems. The injury indexes collected by simulating the different neck safety systems have been compared.

A Method for the Assessment of the Dynamic Performance of Neck Protection Devices

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gianmarco Galmarini ◽  
Massimiliano Gobbi ◽  
Gianpiero Mastinu ◽  
Giorgio Previati
Keyword(s):  
Impact Load ◽  
Dynamic Performance ◽  
Head Injuries ◽  
Test Procedure ◽  
Neck Injury ◽  
Multibody Model ◽  
Hybrid Iii ◽  
Protection Devices ◽  
Male Hybrid ◽  
The Impact

In this paper a method for the evaluation of the dynamic performance of neck protection devices for motorcyclists is presented. The research project involves both experimental and numerical activities. An impulsive load is applied to the head of a 50th percentile male Hybrid III dummy while wearing a helmet by means of a pendulum of calibrated mass starting from a well-defined initial condition. The impact load and the load at the neck of the dummy are measured by means of two six axes load cells. Additionally, head linear and rotational accelerations are measured. The test procedure shows a very good repeatability and allows for the comparison of the force passing through the neck with and without neck protection devices. Since neck protection devices should work in situations in which no relevant head injuries are present, the experimental parameters (pendulum mass and speed) are chosen to cause a high probability of injuries to the neck together with a low probability of damages to the head while wearing a standard helmet. Injury indices, found in the literature, have been used to determine the neck injury level. A multibody model of the human neck, developed in Matlab™ SimMechanics™, is validated by using the data acquired during the tests. A study of real-world crashes has allowed the identification of reference impact scenarios which have been simulated by using the multibody model. The validated model is suitable to determine the chance that a motorcyclist would have significant neck injury with or without a neck protecting device.

scholarly journals A numerical investigation on impulse-induced nonlinear longitudinal waves in pantographic beams

2021 ◽  
pp. 108128652110108
Author(s):  
Emilio Turco ◽  
Emilio Barchiesi ◽  
Francesco dell’Isola
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Simulations ◽  
Mechanical Response ◽  
Integration Scheme ◽  
Present Contribution ◽  
Longitudinal Waves ◽  
Deformation Regime ◽  
Impulsive Loads ◽  
Unit Cells ◽  
Statics And Dynamics ◽  
Equations Of Motions

This contribution presents the results of a campaign of numerical simulations aimed at better understanding the propagation of longitudinal waves in pantographic beams within the large-deformation regime. Initially, we recall the key features of a Lagrangian discrete spring model, which was introduced in previous works and that was tested extensively as capable of accurately forecasting the mechanical response of structures based on the pantographic motif, both in statics and dynamics. Successively, a stepwise integration scheme used to solve equations of motions is briefly discussed. The key content of the present contribution concerns the thorough presentation of some selected numerical simulations, which focus in particular on the propagation of stretch profiles induced by impulsive loads. The study takes into account different tests, by varying the number of unit cells, i.e., the total length of the system, spring stiffnesses, the shape of the impulse, as well as its properties such as duration and peak amplitude, and boundary conditions. Some conjectures about the form of traveling waves are formulated, to be confirmed by both further numerical simulations and analytical investigations.

scholarly journals On the development of instabilities in an annulus and a shell composed of a poro-hyperelastic material

2018 ◽  
Vol 474 (2218) ◽  
pp. 20180239 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. P. S. Selvadurai ◽  
A. P. Suvorov
Keyword(s):  
Soft Tissues ◽  
Mechanical Response ◽  
Numerical Solutions ◽  
Pore Space ◽  
Stability Loss ◽  
Computational Approach ◽  
Hyperelastic Material ◽  
Porous Skeleton ◽  
Internal Pressures

The paper investigates the development of instability in an internally pressurized annulus of a poro-hyperelastic material. The theory of poro-hyperelasticity is proposed as an approach for modelling the mechanical behaviour of highly deformable elastic materials, the pore space of which is saturated with a fluid. The consideration of coupling between the mechanical response of the hyperelastic porous skeleton and the pore fluid is important when applying the developments to soft tissues encountered in biomechanical applications. The paper examines the development of an instability in a poro-hyperelastic annulus subjected to internal pressure. Using a computational approach, numerical solutions are obtained for the internal pressures that promote either short-term or long-term instability in a poro-hyperelastic annulus and a poro-hyperelastic shell. In addition, time-dependent effects of stability loss are examined. The analytical solutions are used to benchmark the accuracy of the computational approach.

A Physically-Based Anisotropic Discrete Fiber Model for Fibrous Soft Tissues

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Flynn ◽  
M. B. Rubin ◽  
P. M. F. Nielsen
Keyword(s):  
Soft Tissues ◽  
Mechanical Response ◽  
Continuous Distribution ◽  
Collagen Fibers ◽  
Fiber Bundles ◽  
Parameter Study ◽  
Rabbit Skin ◽  
Pig Skin ◽  
Proposed Model ◽  
Physically Based

Physically-based fibrous soft tissue models often consider the tissue to be a collection of fibers with a continuous distribution function to represent their orientations. This study proposes a simple model for the response of fibrous connective tissues in terms of a discrete number of fiber bundles. The proposed model consists of six weighted fiber bundles orientated such that they pass through opposing vertices of an icosahedron. A novel aspect of the proposed model is the use of a simple analytical function to represent the undulation distribution of the collagen fibers. The mechanical response of the elastin fiber is represented by a neo-Hookean hyperelastic equation. A parameter study was performed to analyze the effect of each parameter on the overall response of the model. The proposed model accurately simulated the uniaxial stretching of pig skin with an 8% error-of-fit for stretch ratios up to 1.8. The model also accurately simulated the biaxial stretching of rabbit skin with a 10% error-of-fit for stretch ratios up to 1.9. The stiffness of the collagen fibers determined by the model was about 100 MPa for the rabbit skin and 900 MPa for the pig skin, which are comparable with values reported in the literature. The stiffness of the elastin fibers in the model was about 2 kPa.

Elucidation of Microstructural Interactions Between Collagen and Non-Fibrillar Matrix in Soft Tissue Using a Coupled Fiber-Matrix Model

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lijuan Zhang ◽  
Spencer P. Lake ◽  
Victor K. Lai ◽  
Victor H. Barocas ◽  
Mark S. Shephard
Keyword(s):  
Soft Tissues ◽  
Mechanical Response ◽  
Tensile Load ◽  
Matrix Composites ◽  
Collagen Network ◽  
Fiber Network ◽  
Matrix Modeling ◽  
Microscale Model ◽  
Fiber Matrix

The mechanical properties of soft connective tissues are governed by their collagen fiber network and surrounding non-fibrillar matrix (e.g., proteoglycans, cells, elastin, etc.). In order to understand how healthy tissues function, and how properties change in injury and disease, it is necessary to quantify the mechanical response of both the collagen network and the non-fibrillar matrix (NFM), as well as the nature of the interaction between these tissue constituents. Using collagen-agarose co-gels as a simple experimental tissue analog system, we have demonstrated how NFM contributes to the mechanical and organizational properties of soft tissues in indentation and tension [1–2]. Furthermore, we used a network-based microscale model to examine how specific NFM properties alter the response of fiber-matrix composites under load [3]. This model fit our experimental data well and provided insight into the role of NFM in tensile mechanics. Since it was constructed according to the conventional approach of superposition of the two constituents (collagen network and NFM), however, the model could not specifically examine local interactions between collagen fibers and the surrounding NFM, which could be critical in assessing tissue damage or cell-matrix interactions. Therefore, we developed and evaluated a fiber-matrix modeling scheme to characterize the microstructural interactions between tissue constituents, as well as to quantify the role of individual tissue components in the behavior of soft tissues under tensile load. For validation, the new model (‘coupled’) was compared to our previous model (‘parallel’) and to experimental co-gel data.

Nonlinear Dynamic Viscoelastic Model for Osteoarthritic Cartilage Indentation Force

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Vidal-Lesso ◽  
E. Ledesma-Orozco ◽  
R. Lesso-Arroyo ◽  
L. Daza-Benitez
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Properties ◽  
Soft Tissues ◽  
Mechanical Response ◽  
Viscoelastic Model ◽  
Viscoelastic Behavior ◽  
Indentation Test ◽  
Maxwell Model ◽  
Relaxation Curve ◽  
Geometrical Parameters ◽  
Osteoarthritic Cartilage

Biomechanical properties and dynamic response of soft tissues as articular cartilage remains issues for attention. Currently, linear isotropic models are still used for cartilage analysis in spite of its viscoelastic nature. Therefore, the aim of this study was to propose a nonlinear viscoelastic model for cartilage indentation that combines the geometrical parameters and velocity of the indentation test with the thickness of the sample as well as the mechanical properties of the tissue changing over time due to its viscoelastic behavior. Parameters of the indentation test and mechanical properties as a function of time were performed in Laplace space where the constitutive equation for viscoelasticity and the convolution theorem was applied in addition with the Maxwell model and Hayes et al. model for instantaneous elastic modulus. Results of the models were compared with experimental data of indentation tests on osteoarthritic cartilage of a unicompartmental osteoarthritis cases. The models showed a strong fit for the axial indentation nonlinear force in the loading curve (R2 = 0.992) and a good fit for unloading (R2 = 0.987), while an acceptable fit was observed in the relaxation curve (R2 = 0.967). These models may be used to study the mechanical response of osteoarthritic cartilage to several dynamical and geometrical test conditions.

Optimization of Biomechanical Systems For the Fighter Plane Ejection Seats

2013 ◽  
Vol 815 ◽  
pp. 880-885
Author(s):  
Yu Fei Wang ◽  
Ban Wang ◽  
Jin Yuan Wang ◽  
Dong Qi Meng
Keyword(s):  
Safety Devices ◽  
Protection Devices ◽  
And Control ◽  
The Impact

Restraint systems and protection devices, referred to as safety devices in this paper, are widely used in automobiles and aircraft for crashworthiness and safety. While such safety devices are designed to isolate, attenuate, and control the impact to the occupants, their performance for crashworthiness and safety may be ineffective or even counterproductive under certain circumstances.

A Large Strain Material Model for Soft Tissues With Functionally Graded Properties

2010 ◽  
Vol 132 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Uwe-Jens Görke ◽  
Hubert Günther ◽  
Thomas Nagel ◽  
Markus A. Wimmer
Keyword(s):  
Soft Tissues ◽  
Mechanical Response ◽  
Large Strain ◽  
Intrinsic Rate ◽  
Material Model ◽  
Numerical Approach ◽  
Functionally Graded ◽  
Coupled Processes ◽  
Rate Dependency ◽  
Unconfined Compression Test

The reaction of articular cartilage and other soft tissues to mechanical loads has been characterized by coupled hydraulic (H) and mechanical (M) processes. An enhanced biphasic material model is presented, which may be used to describe the load response of soft tissue. A large-strain numerical approach of HM coupled processes has been applied. Physical and geometrical nonlinearities, as well as anisotropy and intrinsic rate-dependency of the solid skeleton have been realized using a thermodynamically consistent approach. The presented material model has been implemented into the commercially available finite element code MSC MARC. Initial verification of the model has been conducted analytically in tendonlike structures. The poroelastic and intrinsic viscoelastic features of the model were compared with the experimental data of an unconfined compression test of agarose hydrogel. A recent example from the area of cartilage research has been modeled, and the mechanical response was compared with cell viability. All examples showed good agreement between numerical and analytical/experimental results.

scholarly journals Multi-scale modelling of rubber-like materials and soft tissues: an appraisal

2016 ◽  
Vol 472 (2187) ◽  
pp. 20160060 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Puglisi ◽  
G. Saccomandi
Keyword(s):  
Mathematical Models ◽  
Phenomenological Models ◽  
Mechanical Behaviour ◽  
Soft Tissues ◽  
Mechanical Response ◽  
Multi Scale ◽  
Bioinspired Materials ◽  
Macroscopic Properties ◽  
Network Scale ◽  
Scale Modelling

We survey, in a partial way, multi-scale approaches for the modelling of rubber-like and soft tissues and compare them with classical macroscopic phenomenological models. Our aim is to show how it is possible to obtain practical mathematical models for the mechanical behaviour of these materials incorporating mesoscopic (network scale) information. Multi-scale approaches are crucial for the theoretical comprehension and prediction of the complex mechanical response of these materials. Moreover, such models are fundamental in the perspective of the design, through manipulation at the micro- and nano-scales, of new polymeric and bioinspired materials with exceptional macroscopic properties.

Finite Element Implementation of a Planar Soft Tissue Structural Constitutive Model for Heart Valve Simulations

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rong Fan ◽  
Michael S. Sacks
Keyword(s):  
Finite Element ◽  
Constitutive Model ◽  
Soft Tissues ◽  
Structural Model ◽  
Mechanical Response ◽  
Biological Tissues ◽  
Biaxial Test ◽  
Tissue Microstructure ◽  
Highly Nonlinear ◽  
Insight Into

Constitutive modeling is critical for numerical simulation and analysis of soft biological tissues. The highly nonlinear and anisotropic mechanical behaviors of soft tissues are typically due to the interaction of tissue microstructure. By incorporating information of fiber orientation and distribution at tissue microscopic scale, the structural model avoids ambiguities in material characterization. Moreover, structural models produce much more information than just simple stress-strain results, but can provide much insight into how soft tissues internally reorganize to external loads by adjusting their internal microstructure. It is only through simulation of an entire organ system can such information be derived and provide insight into physiological function. However, accurate implementation and rigorous validation of these models remains very limited. In the present study we implemented a structural constitutive model into a commercial finite element package for planar soft tissues. The structural model was applied to simulate strip biaxial test for native bovine pericardium, and a single pulmonary valve leaflet deformation. In addition to prediction of the mechanical response, we demonstrate how a structural model can provide deeper insights into fiber deformation fiber reorientation and fiber recruitment.

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