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Technical Paper

Rib Cage Strain Pattern as a Function of Chest Loading Configuration

2008-11-03
2008-22-0009
Rib fractures are the most frequent types of AIS3+ chest injuries and constitute a good indication of severity. However, the behavior of the rib cage is not well documented, and though chest external measurements are often provided in the literature, the strains of the ribs themselves during a crash remain unknown. In order to address this issue, a test protocol was developed, where the ribs of 8 PMHS were equipped with up to 96 strain gauges. In a first series of 3 tests, the subjects were seated upright and their chests were loaded by a 23.4 kg impactor propelled at 4.3 m/s in 0° (pure frontal), 60° (oblique) and 90° (pure lateral) directions. In a second series of 3 tests, the subjects were loaded by the deployment of an unfolded airbag in the same 3 directions. Finally, a third series of 2 tests was performed with airbags at different distances from the subjects, in a pure lateral direction. This paper presents the results of the tests and an analysis of the strain patterns.
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