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This research investigates the variation of pedestrian stance in pedestrian-automobile impact using a validated multi-body vehicle and human model. Detailed vehicle models of a small family car and a sport utility vehicle (SUV) are developed and validated for impact with a 50th percentile human male anthropometric ellipsoid model, and different pedestrian stances (struck limb forward, feet together, and struck limb backward) are investigated. The models calculate the physical trajectory of the multi-body models including head and torso accelerations, as well as pelvic force loads. This study shows that lower limb orientation during a pedestrian-automobile impact plays a dominant role in upper body kinematics of the pedestrian. Specifically, stance has a substantial effect on the subsequent impacts of the head and thorax with the vehicle. The variation in stance can change the severity of an injury incurred during an impact by changing the impact region.

The THOR-NT dummy has been developed and continuously improved by NHTSA to provide automotive manufacturers an advanced tool that can be used to assess the injury risk of vehicle occupants in crash tests. With the recent improvements of finite element (FE) technology and the increase of computational power, a validated FE model of THOR may provide an efficient tool for the design optimization of vehicles and their restraint systems. The main goal of this study was to improve biofidelity of a head-neck FE model of THOR-NT dummy. A three-dimensional FE model of the head and neck was developed in LS-Dyna based on the drawings of the THOR dummy. The material properties of deformable parts and the joints properties between rigid parts were assigned initially based on data found in the literature, and then calibrated using optimization techniques.

The size and shape of the acetabulum and of the femoral head influence the injury tolerance of the hip joint. The aim of this study is to quantify changes in acetabular cup geometry that occur with age, gender, height, and weight. Anonymized computed tomography (CT) scans of 1,150 individuals 16+ years of age, both with and without hip trauma, were used to describe the acetabular rim with 100 equally spaced points. Bilateral measurements were taken on uninjured patients, while only the uninjured side was valuated in those with hip trauma. Multinomial logistic regression found that after controlling for age, height, weight, and gender, each 1 degree decrease in acetabular anteversion angle (AAA) corresponded to an 8 percent increase in fracture likelihood (p≺0.001).

Given the increased use of programmable embedded electronic systems (PEES) in automotive applications and their vital importance, it is not only important for engineers to design PEES in such a way to meet or exceed safety requirements but also quantify how “safe” these systems are. At the University of Virginia's Center for Safety-Critical Systems, we have developed a safety quantification methodology for embedded real time safety-related systems. The goal of the safety quantification methodology is to provide a generic but rigorous and systematic way of characterizing the dependability behavior of embedded systems that is applicable to a broad range of applications from automotive to nuclear. This paper presents a quantitative safety assessment methodology for safety-critical embedded systems using fault injection (FI). This methodology has been developed, refined and applied to a number of commercial safety-grade systems in the railway, nuclear and avionics industries.