Publications

An Examination of Pre‐crash Braking Influence on Occupant Crash Response  using an Active Human Body Model

Real-world occupant protection includes the influence of active safety technologies, such as auto‐ brake  systems.  This  study  uses  an  active  human  body  model  (called  SAFER  A‐HBM)  with  the  capability  to  simulate emergency braking events

Industrialisation of a Finite Element Active Human Body Model for Vehicle Crash Simulations

The Total HUman Model for Safety (THUMS), developed by Toyota, is a numerical finite element model of the human body to enable studies of vehicle accidents by computer aided simulations. Recently a new muscle package, referred to as the SAFER Active Human

Muscle Activation Strategies in Human Body Models for the Development of Integrated Safety

Human Body Models (HBMs) have been used in crash safety research for some time, and are now emerging as tools for the development of restraints systems. One important challenge in the development of advanced restraint systems is to integrate sensory

Feedback Control in LS-DYNA and Application for Modeling Muscle Responses of Car Occupants

Modeling Active Human Muscle Responses during Driver and Autonomous Avoidance Maneuvers

Integration of pre-crash and in-crash safety systems has a potential to further reduce car occupant fatalities and to mitigate injuries. However, the introduction of integrated safety systems creates new requirements for Human Body Models (HBMs) as

Modelling of Car Occupant Muscle Responses in a Finite Element Human Body Model

Over 30 000 fatalities related to the road transport system are reported in Europe annually. Of these fatalities, the largest share is car occupants, even though significant improvements in vehicle safety have been achieved by the implementation of in

Cervical Muscle Responses to Multi-Directional Perturbations

Numerical human models are widely used in the design process and evaluation of passive and active vehicle safety systems in pre-crash and crash situations. Development and validation of human models that simulate neuromuscular control requires information

Finite Element Musculoskeletal Model with Feedback Control to Simulate Spinal Postural Responses

Today, most Finite Element (FE) Human Body Models (HBMs) are intended for crash simulations and not for pre-crash events, due to the lack of active muscles. To study combined pre- and in crash events, muscle activity is essential. Therefore, this work

Evaluation at low g-level loading

Muscle Responses of Car Occupants: Numerical Modeling and Volunteer Experiments under Pre-Crash Braking Conditions

Over 30 000 fatalities related to the road transport system are reported anually in Europe. Of these fatalities, the largest share is car occupants, even though significant improvements in vehicle safety have been achieved by the implementation of in-crash

Volunteer Muscle Activity in Dynamic Events. Input Data for Human Body Models.

Human body models (HBMs) are virtual human surrogates used to predict kinematic and injury responses during motor vehicle crashes. In recent years, active musculature has been incorporated into HBMs for enhanced biofidelity in simulated emergency scenarios

A Method to Model Anticipatory Postural Control in Driver Braking Events

Human Body Models (HBMs) for vehicle occupant simulations have recently been extended with active muscles and postural control strategies. Feedback control has been used to model occupant responses to autonomous braking interventions. However, driver

A Human Body Model with Active Muscles for Simulation of Pre-Tensioned Restraints in Autonomous Braking Interventions

Objective: The aim of this work is to study driver and passenger kinematics in autonomous braking scenarios, with and without pre-tensioned seat belts, using a whole-body finite element (FE) human body model (HBM) with active muscles. Methods: Upper

Future challenges and needs in integrated safety:Reducing disabling injuries especially for people outside the average male category

Safety of children in cars: A review of biomechanical aspects and human body models

The protection of children in motor vehicle crashes has improved since the introduction of child restraint systems. However, motor vehicle crashes remain one of the top leading causes of death for children. Today, computer-aided engineering is an essential

Active Spine Modeling Representing a 6 Year-Old Child

In a car crash, properly restrained forward facing children may sustain head injuries due to contact with the car interior. Emergency events such as braking and steering will influence the kinematics of the child, thereby affecting the child’s interaction

En forskningsinfrastruktur för AstaZero - förstudie

Active Safety Test Area (AstaZero) is developed by SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden and Chalmers. It will be an internationally leading environment for research and development of active safety in road vehicles. Industry, universities and research

Finite element analysis of traumatic brain injuries mechanisms in the rat

A finite element model of the rat’s head was developed to improve the knowledge on traumatic brain injuries. A parametric study was conducted on the mechanical characteristics of its anatomical components. A correlation was then established between

The Influence of Sub-Frame Geometry on a Vehicle's Frontal Crash Response

The importance of a vehicle sub-frame is often discussed in vehicle compatibility. To observe how the sub-frame geometry influences the vehicle response, three different sub-frame configurations were modeled and simulated in US NCAP crash test

Injury Threshold for Sagittal Plane Rotational Induced Diffuse Axonal Injuries

Sagittal plane rotational acceleration induced diffuse axonal injury threshold was investigated using an animal model in which the heads of the rats were exposed to selected rotation accelerations. Post-trauma survival times ranged from 3 to 120 h

Rear Seat Occupant Thorax Protection in Near Side Impacts

Thoracic side-airbags (SAB) have proven to protect front seat occupants in side impacts. This benefit has not been evaluated for rear seat occupants who are typically small statured. The objective was to analyze field data from rear seat occupants in near

Active Muscle Responses in a Finite Element Human Body Model

The development of automotive safety systems is moving towards an integration of systems that are active before and during an impact. Consequently, there is a need to make a combined analysis of both the pre-crash and the in-crash phases, which leads to

Basics for Developing a Female Occupant Model for Investigating Cervical Spine Distortion Injury (CSD)

Females sustain Cervical Spine Distortion injury (CSD) more often than males. Most work dealing with the biomechanics background (e.g. injury mechanism/criteria) as well as the application in seat design/testing, focuses on the occupant model of an average

Biomechanical Data for a Computational Model of an Average Female

Challenges in Steering Wheel Rim to Thorax Impacts Using Finite Element Hybrid III and Human Body Models for Heavy Vehicle Frontal Crash Applications

A risk of severe injuries from steering wheel rim to thorax contacts has been identified in heavy vehicle frontal collisions. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects in changing the steering wheel rim tilt angle on the thorax of the

Closed loop control of FE arm model

BACKGROUND: Accidents are among the top leading causes of death worldwide. In the European Union, there are about 43.000 reported deaths [1] and 1.3 millions casualties because of road traffic accidents [2] each year. The annual costs to the European

Comparison of Hybrid III and Human Body Models in Evaluating Thoracic Response for Various Seat Belt and Airbag Loading Conditions

Thoracic responses between the Hybrid III model and the THUMS human body model were compared in three frontal impact severities for two belt (3-point and criss-cross), two belt load limiter (constant and degressive) and two airbag types (symmetric and non

Continuum Models of Active Musculature for Impact Biomechanics Simulation

In order to obtain reliable and realistic results for a human body model in a car crash simulation, having a suitable constitutive model for muscle tissue with both passive and active properties, is of great importance. Skeletal muscles have experimentally

Effect of booster seat design on children's choice of seating positions during naturalistic riding

The purpose of this naturalistic study was to investigate the effect of booster seat design on the choice of children’s seating positions during naturalistic riding. Data was collected through observations of children during in-vehicle riding by means of a

Energy-absorbing FUPDs and their interactions with fronts of passenger cars

Structural and in-depth analyses of the crash accidents between heavy goods vehicles and passenger cars showed that the front underrun protective device (FUPD), obeying the Economic Commission for Europe Regulation No. 93, is not sufficient to protect

EvaRID: a dummy model representing females in rear end impacts

The Seventh Framework project ADSEAT (Adaptive Seat to Reduce Neck Injuries for Female and Male Occupants) aims at establishing the properties for a model of an average female and to implement those in a computational model in order to provide an

Implementing Active Properties of Musculature to Obtain Posture Maintaining Human Body Models for Crash Simulations

BACKGROUND: Today, human body models (HBM) are recognized as important tools within traffic safety research at universities and in the automotive industry. In pre-crash simulations, the occupant’s muscle tonus, bracing, and muscle reflexes have a large

Infusion modelling using two-phase porous media theory

The paper addresses process modeling of advanced composites using Liquid Resin Infusion (LRI) of dry textiles. In fact, prepreg composites give superior mechanical properties due to toughened resins well dispersed in carefully controlled fabric

Initial Studies of Dynamic Responses of Female and Male Volunteers in Rear Impact Tests

Whiplash Associated Disorder (WAD) - commonly denoted whiplash injury - resulting from vehicle impacts, is a worldwide epidemic. These injuries occur at relatively low changes of velocity (typically between 10-25 km/h) and in impacts from all directions

Modeling resin flow and preform deformation in composite manufacturing based on partially saturated porous media theory

In this contribution a generic algorithm to simulate resin infusion in composites manufacturing technologies such as Liquid Resin Infusion (LRI) and Resin Transfer Molding (RTM) is developed. The most important challenge to be addressed is the migration of

Motion of the Head and Neck of Female and Male Volunteers in Rear Impact Car-to-Car Tests at 4 and 8 km/h

In this study indications of differences in motion pattern of females and males have been found. The objective was to quantify dynamic motion responses of female and male volunteers in rear impact tests. Such data can be used as an input in the

SEVS Safe, Efficient Vehicle Solutions - Slutrapport SEVS, Phase I

BAKGRUND: Safer – Fordons- och trafiksäkerhetscentrum och SHC - Svenskt hybridfordonscentrum, båda Centers of excellence inom Chalmers, ansvarade för projektet SEVS, “Safe, Electrical and Hybrid novel VehicleS” sedemera ”Safe, Efficient Vehicle

Structural capacitor materials made from carbon fibre epoxy composites

In this paper, an approach towards realising novel multifunctional polymer composites is presented. A series of structural capacitor materials made from carbon fibre reinforced polymers have been developed, manufactured and tested. The structural capacitor

Thoracic Injury Risk as a Function of Crash Severity - Car-to-Car Side Impact Tests with WorldSID Compared to Real-life Crashes

Side airbags reduce the risk of fatal injury by approximately 30%. Due to limited real-life data the risk reducing effect for serious injury has not yet been established. Since side airbags are mainly designed and validated for crash severities used in

Census Study of Fatal Car-to-Car Intersection Crashes in Sweden Involving Modern Vehicles

OBJECTIVE: Intersections are challenging for many road users. According to US, European, and global statistics, intersection-related crashes with fatal outcome represent approximately 20 percent of all traffic fatalities. The aim of this study was to

CFRP structural capacitor materials for automotive applications

In this paper, an approach towards realising novel multifunctional polymer composites is presented. A series of structural capacitor materials made from carbon fibre reinforced polymers have been developed, manufactured and tested. The structural capacitor

Development of Injury Criteria for Frontal Impact Using a Human Body FE Model

Sternal deflection is an injury criterion used in current regulatory and consumer tests worldwide to assess thoracic injury risk. However, this criterion has some serious limits when applied to the Hybrid-III dummy: the risk curve based on the criterion is

Effect of Side Impact Protection in Reducing Injuries

The aim of this study was to identify risk factors in side impact. In particular risk factors such as kerb weight of striking/struck passenger car, age, gender, the presence of a front-seat occupant and side airbags influence the injury outcome. The

Evaluating the Thoracic Response in a Human Body Model, Compared to Cadaver Experiments

Fatalities caused by car accidents accounted for 1.2 million worldwide in 2004. Chest injuries are the second death cause, after head injuries, in vehicle accidents. Devices to predict risk of injury are fundamental to develop and evaluate restraint

Evaluation of material models in LS-DYNA for impact simulation of white adipose tissue

Human body models (HBM) are used as tools in crash simulations when investigating the interactions between the human body and the vehicle, thus gaining insight into the evolution of stresses and strains influencing the different parts of the body. In

EvaRID: A 50th Percentile Female Rear Impact Dummy FE Model

Introduction: Vehicle crashes causing ‘whiplash injuries’, is of great concern worldwide. These injuries occur at relatively low velocity changes (Δv), typically 25 km/h, and in impacts from all directions. Rear impacts are, however, associated with the

EvaRID - Anthropometric and Biomechanical Specification of a Finite Element Dummy Model of an Average Female for Rear Impact Testing

Neck injury due to low severity vehicle crashes is of worldwide concern and it is well established that the risk of such injuries are higher for females than for males, even in similar crash conditions. In addition, recently developed protective systems

FIMCAR - Frontal Impact and Compatibility Assessment Research: Strategy and First Results for Future Frontal Impact Assessment

For the assessment of vehicle safety in frontal collisions, the crash compatibility between the colliding vehicles is crucial. Compatibility compromises both the self protection and the partner protection  properties of vehicles. For the accident data

Free surface flow and preform deformation in composites manufacturing based on porous media theory

In the present contribution an infusion simulation tool is developed, applicable to a quite wide range of composites manufacturing technologies. The paper focusses on isothermal, infusion like manufacturing processes involving highly deformable preforms

Head injury causation scenarios for belted, rear-seated children in frontal impacts

Objectives: Head injuries are the most common serious injuries sustained by children in motor vehicle crashes and are of critical importance with regard to long-term disability. There is a lack of understanding of how seat belt–restrained children sustain