Development and Validation of a Finite Element Lower Limb Model for Elderly Females

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Prashant Khandelwal ◽  
Anil Kalra ◽  
Binhui Jiang ◽  
Anand Hammad ◽  
Xin Jin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Finite Element ◽  
Lower Limb ◽  
Injury Risk ◽  
Numerical Models ◽  
Element Model ◽  
Side Impact ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Lower Limb Injury ◽  
Crash Dummies ◽  
Development And Validation

Physical surrogates and numerical models have been used to investigate the lower limb injury responses in blunt trauma related to occupant and pedestrian impacts during crash events. To date, automotive crash dummies used for studying the lower limb kinematics and injury responses in car crashes are designed to represent mid-age adults. But due to increase in fragility and frailty with age, the injury risk of the lower limb of elderly females is greater compared to younger adults. Thus, safety designs should expand for protecting elderly females in lower limb impacts. The current study focuses on developing a lower limb finite element model for elderly females with accurate anthropometry and anatomical details. The model was further validated against segmental and whole-body level experimental data of lower limb impact during pedestrian, frontal, and side impact loading. The validated model will be further integrated into the whole-body model to study injury mechanisms and safety designs for this vulnerable population of elderly females.

Development of a Finite Element Model of the Human Shoulder

1999 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masami Iwamoto ◽  
Kazuo Miki ◽  
Babushankar Sambamoorthy ◽  
King H. Yang ◽  
Albert I. King
Keyword(s):  
Finite Element ◽  
Finite Element Model ◽  
Numerical Models ◽  
Element Model ◽  
Injury Mechanism ◽  
Side Impact ◽  
Human Anatomy ◽  
Lateral Impact ◽  
Crash Dummies ◽  
The Impact

Abstract During an automotive side impact, the shoulder is likely to be the first body part that is directly impacted either by the internal structures of the vehicle or by the side airbag. Therefore, a good understanding of the injury mechanism and the kinematics of the shoulder is critical for occupant protection in side impact. Existing side impact crash dummies do not have structures that are capable of reproducing the kinematics and kinetics of a human occupant. Over the past several years, many numerical models have been developed from head to foot in an attempt to overcome the shortcomings of these crash dummies. However, relatively few attempts have been made to include the shoulder. The purpose of this study is to develop a finite element model of the human shoulder in order to achieve a deeper understanding of the injury mechanism and the kinematics of the shoulder in side impacts. Basic anthropometric data used to develop the skeletal portion of the shoulder model were taken from a commercial data package of the human shoulder geometry (Viewpoint Datalabs). This geometry was scaled to fit a 50th percentile male occupant according to the data reported by Schneider et al. (1983). The shoulder model included the three bones of the shoulder, namely the humerus, scapula and clavicle. Each bone was modeled in two parts. The spongy bone was modeled using crushable solids and the cortical bone was modeled using damageable shell elements. The model also includes major ligaments, which form the acromioclavicular and sternoclavicular articulations. The deltoid muscle, which was modeled by crushable solids in order to absorb part of the impact energy, was added to this model for lateral impact simulations. This shoulder model was then integrated with a human thorax model developed by Wang (1995), along with other preexisting models of other parts of the human anatomy. Material properties for the model were taken from the literature. Experimental data obtained from lateral impact sled tests of 17 cadavers conducted at Wayne State University were used to validate the model. Impact forces in four regions, specifically, the shoulder, thorax, abdomen and pelvis, were calculated by the model and were compared with forces obtained experimentally from rigid wall impacts at 6.7m/s and padded wall impacts at 8.9m/s.

Development and Validation of an Older Occupant Finite Element Model of a Mid-Sized Male for Investigation of Age-related Injury Risk

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samantha L. Schoell ◽  
Ashley A. Weaver ◽  
Jillian E. Urban ◽  
Derek A. Jones ◽  
Joel D. Stitzel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Finite Element ◽  
Finite Element Model ◽  
Injury Risk ◽  
Element Model ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Development And Validation
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