Thoracic Characterization Studies
Description
Assessing restraint effectiveness and thoracic injury potential in a frontal impact crash test requires a variety of tools. First, a reasonable surrogate for a living human must be available. This surrogate must deform in a manner similar to a human, and it must move in a manner similar to a human. Crast test dummies are often used for this purpose. Second, the relationship between the dummy's measurements and the true injury risk to a human must be understood. Finally, the influence of other factors, such as the occupant's age, must be known.
Thoracic characterization studies have been performed at the CAB for several years. These studies have provided fundamental biomechanical data for the development and validation of physical and computational models of the human. We have quantified the elastic and viscous characteristics of the thorax for diverse restraint loading conditions (belt, air bag, advanced restraints, etc.) and have also looked at the effect of the subject's age and other physical characteristics on the measured force-deflection characteristics of the deforming thorax. It is important to understand the structural response of the thorax so that restraints can be designed to minimize thoracic deformation and deformation rate in collisions.
Dummy Thoracic Biofidelity (THOR and Hybrid III)
Description
Assessing restraint effectiveness and thoracic injury potential in a frontal impact crash test requires a variety of tools. First, a reasonable surrogate for a living human must be available. This surrogate must deform in a manner similar to a human, and it must move in a manner similar to a human. Second, the relationship between the dummy's measurements and the true injury risk to a human must be understood. Finally, the influence of other factors, such as the occupant's age, must be known.
Since its inception in 1989, the Center for Applied Biomechanics has been actively involved in the design and assessment of crash test dummies, as well as the development of techniques for interpreting dummy measures. Current research includes the assessment of the advanced THOR dummy, and how it compares with the currently used Hybrid III.