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In order to assess the seating comfort design of a vehicle seat system, a full finite element occupant model, with anatomically precise features and deformable tissues, has been developed. This paper describes the experiments which were performed in order to assess the biofidelic accuracy of this model. First, static pressure distribution measurements, with human volunteers, have been performed. People of different morphological types were asked to sit on a PU foam cushion with various postures, which were captured by photographs and X-Ray measurements. Pressure sensors were used to determine the corresponding pressure distribution patterns. Then, the FE occupant model was used to simulate the same experiments, and the numerical results were compared to the experimental ones.

Crash injuries in lower extremities are usually not fatal but may result in long-term impairment and immobility. Current understanding of these injuries is still quite limited from the biomechanical point of view. It is known that they occur often during frontal offset collisions in which intrusion of the toe pan and instrument panel frequently occur but are not always associated with their causation. Assessment of these injuries using the Hybrid III dummy is limited because of its limited biofidelic structure and inaccurate injury criteria. Accordingly, THOR-LX, the retrofit of the lower leg of the Hybrid III, has been introduced with an improved design for ankle motion and capacity of injury prediction. In this study, the different ankle joint characteristics and outcomes of both the Hybrid III and the THOR/LX have been quantitatively analyzed for an NCAP 40% offset crash with a small size sedan.