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The goal of the present study was to develop a new legform impactor that accurately represents both the impact force (i.e., force between the leg and impacting mass)and leg kinematics in lateral impacts simulating car-pedestrian accidents. In its development we utilized the knee joint of the pedestrian dummy called Polar-2 (HONDA R&D) in which the cruciate and collateral ligaments are represented by means of springs and cables, the geometry of the femoral condyles is simplified using ellipsoidal surfaces, and the tibial meniscus is represented by an elastomeric pad. The impactor was evaluated by comparing its responses with published experimental results obtained using postmortem human subjects (PMHS). The evaluation was done under two conditions: 1)impact point near the ankle area (bending tests),and 2)impact point 84 mm below the knee joint center (shearing tests). Two impact speeds were used: 5.56 m/s and 11.11 m/s.

An impact test procedure with a legform addressing lower limb injuries in car-pedestrian accidents has been proposed by EEVC/WG17. Although a high frequency of lower limb fractures is observed in recent accident data, this test procedure assesses knee injuries with a focus on trauma to the ligamentous structures. The goal of this study is to establish a methodology to understand injury mechanisms of both ligamentous damages and bone fractures in car-pedestrian accidents. A finite element (FE) model of the human lower limb was developed using PAM-CRASH™. The commercially available H-Dummy™ lower limb model developed by Nihon ESI for a seated position was modified to represent the standing posture of pedestrians. Mechanical properties for both bony structures and knee ligaments were determined from our extensive literature survey, and were carefully implemented in the model considering their strain rate dependency in order to simulate the dynamic response of the lower limb accurately.

Honda has been studying ways of improving vehicle design to reduce the severity of pedestrian injury. Full-scale test using a pedestrian dummy is an important way to assess the aggressiveness of a vehicle to pedestrians. However, from test results it is concluded that current pedestrian dummies have stiffer characteristics than Post Mortem Human Subjects (PMHS). Also, the dummy kinematics during a collision is different from that of a human body. Because of the limitations of current dummies, it was decided to develop a new pedestrian dummy. At the first stage of the project, a computer simulation model that represented the PMHS tests was developed. Joint characteristics obtained from the simulation model were used in building a new pedestrian dummy which has been named Polar I. The advanced frontal crash test dummy, known as Thor, was selected as the base dummy. Modifications were made for the thorax, spine, knee etc.

Improvements for pedestrian head protection in a car-pedestrian accident have been discussed in several countries. Test methods for evaluating head protection have been proposed, and most are sub-systems using rigid headforms with or without headskin. In those tests, HIC is used as a criterion for head protection. This paper discusses the test conditions and requirements of the headform impact test. The influence of different test conditions and their importance on head impact test requirements, were verified. The primary items cited are as follows: (1) The results of the rigid headform were similar to that of the human cadaver skull in cases without skull fractures. Consequently, the rigid headform can be used for the impactor simulating a condition without skull fracture. (2) In the cases of HIC≤1000, the force-deformation curves of the hoodtops showed similar characteristics with maximum dynamic deformations over 60mm. (3) Impactor mass affected the maximum acceleration and HIC.

Based on a previously presented two-dimensional car-to-car impact model, automobile collision tests were analyzed to understand the relationship of the impact center to the residual vehicle deformation, which is essential for improving the reliability of the impact model. The results from a number of automobile collision tests indicated that the impact centers of the two vehicles at the end of collision were located near the center of the contacting surface when the vehicle deformation is maximized. This leads to a method of defining the impact center from the crush profile at the time of maximum deformation. The relationships of the normal and tangential restitution coefficients to the collision type were also presented, discussed and evaluated to obtain some guidelines on how to choose the restitution coefficients from impact conditions.

A two-dimensional impact model with a capability of reverse calculation has been developed to reconstruct various types of automobile collisions. The model consists of a law of conservation of momentum and introduces a normal restitution coefficient and a tangential restitution coefficient at the impact center. Sixteen car-to-car impact tests, including side swipe type collisions, were conducted to obtain primary data for validating the model and improving its reliability in accident analysis. The relationship of the normal and tangential restitution coefficients to the collision type was obtained with a generalized impulse ratio from the analysis of test data by using the impact model. This paper presents the formulas used in the model and demonstrates their applications to accident analysis. The following analytical formulas are introduced: The relationship between energy loss and delta-V. The relationship between restitution coefficients and energy loss.

Event Data Recorders (EDRs) record valuable data in estimating the occupant injury severity after a crash. Advanced Automatic Collision Notification (AACN) with the use of EDR data will determine the potential extent of injuries to those involved in motor vehicle accidents. In order to obtain basic information in injury estimation using EDR data, frontal collisions for 29 vehicles equipped with EDRs were analyzed as a pilot study by retrieving the EDR data from the accident vehicles and collecting the occupant injury data from the database of an insurance company. As a result, the severity of occupant injury was closely related to the Delta V recorded on an EDR. However, there were several cases in which the predicted injury level was overestimated or underestimated by the Delta V. Therefore, caution is required when predicting the level of injury in frontal collisions based upon the Delta V alone.

Numerous studies of pelvic tolerance to lateral impact aimed at protecting car occupants have been conducted on Post Mortem Human Subjects (PMHSs) in a sitting posture. However, it remains unclear whether or not the results of these studies are relevant when evaluating the injury risk to walking pedestrians impacted by a car. Therefore, the first objective of the present study is to determine the injury tolerance and to describe the injury mechanisms of the human pelvis in lateral impacts simulating car-pedestrian accidents. The second objective is to obtain data for validation of mathematical models of the pelvis. In-vitro experiments were conducted on twelve PMHSs in simulated standing position. The trochanter of each PMHS was hit by a ram at speed of 32 km/h, and the pelvic motion was constrained by a bolt. This type of pelvic constraint is difficult to simulate in mathematical models.

The New Car Assessment Program in Japan (JNCAP) was launched in 1995 in order to improve car safety performance. According to this program, installation conditions of safety devices and the results for braking performance and full- frontal crash tests are published every year. Introduction of JNCAP significantly increases the installation rate of safety devices and contributes much in enhancement of safety as seen in the decrease in the average injury severity of drivers and passengers. Side impact and offset frontal crash tests were introduced in 1999 and 2000, respectively. At present, the overall crash safety rating is carried out based on the results of the full-frontal, offset frontal, and side impact tests.

The objective of this research is to clarify the significant factors causing AIS 2+ femur or pelvis pedestrian injury, and to understand whether the current EEVC upper legform test reflects real world pedestrian accidents. An in-depth case study was conducted using the selected 82 pedestrian accident cases from 1987 to 1997 in the data base of Japan Automobile Research Institute (JARI) and Institute for Traffic Accident Research and Data Analysis (ITARDA). The results indicate the significant factors were the bonnet leading edge height, the vehicle registration year and the pedestrian age. The bumper lead was not a significant factor. However, the test condition of the EEVC upper legform test depends on the bumper lead and the bonnet leading edge height. The current test condition of the EEVC upper legform test should be reconsidered excluding the bumper lead.

The legform impactor proposed by EEVC/WG17 is composed of a rigid thigh segment and a rigid lower leg segment. Human bone, however, has flexibility, causing some differences between the EEVC rigid legform impactor and the human leg. This research analyzes the influence of the differences (rigid versus flexible) on the injury criteria. It also reanalyzes the upper tibia acceleration with regard to the fracture index. The rigid legform impactor cannot simulate bone bending motion, so the injury criteria should consider the legform rigidity. It means the injury criteria need to include the bone bending effect. From several PMHS test results, the shearing displacement becomes 23 mm and 20 degrees for bending angle including the bone bending effect. However, the bone bending effect will change with the loading conditions. Therefore, to establish a certain injury criteria for a rigid legform impactor is impossible. To solve this problem, a flexible legform impactor seems to be needed.

The IHRA Pedestrian Working Group has conducted investigation and analysis on the current status of pedestrian accidents in the IHRA member countries. We collected the accident data that occurred by 1999, then unified the formats of the accident data and established a dataset that makes it possible to make comparison with each other. According to the current status of pedestrian accidents, three parts of the pedestrian’s body have the highest priority for protection, the child and adult heads, and the adult lower leg/knee. As for the motor vehicle, we determined which particular parts of the motor vehicle were involved, which pedestrian body parts they injured and the severity of the injuries, and analyzed the effect of their shapes, corresponding to the items above. It was decided that the test methods should be for motor vehicles for passenger use but not buses and coaches.

The main objective of this study is to determine the damage tolerance and to describe the damage mechanisms of the extended human knee when it is exposed to lateral impact loads in pedestrian accidents, particularly those that occur at high velocity. An experimental method for assessing the damage tolerance of the knee region to loads acting at the extended lower extremity was developed. In-Vitro experiments with human subjects were conducted where only the purest possible shearing deformation or the purest possible bending deformation affected the knee region at the time. Ten experiments at a velocity level of 40 km/h were performed in a shearing and a bending setup, respectively. The peak values of the shearing force and the bending moment related to the damage of knee ligaments and bone fractures were calculated at knee joint level. Damages were assessed by dissecting the lower extremity.

The main objective of this study is to determine the damage tolerance and describe the damage mechanisms of the extended human knee when it is exposed to lateral impact loads in car-pedestrian accidents, particularly those that occur at a low velocity (20 km/h), and compare the results with those obtained at a high velocity (40 km/h). In-vitro experiments with human subjects were conducted where only the purest possible shearing deformation or the purest possible bending deformation affected the knee region at the time. Five experiments were performed in the shearing setup and another five in bending setup. The peak values of the shearing force and the bending moment related to the damage of knee ligaments and bone fractures were calculated at the knee joint level. Damages were assessed by dissecting the lower extremity. When the knee joint was exposed to the “purest possible shearing deformation”, the common initial damagemechanism was ligament damage related to ACL (60% of cases).

To understand the performance of Event Data Recorder (EDR) for the improvement of accident reconstruction using reliable and accurate information, two types of crash test data are analyzed. The first type is the J-NCAP crash tests for understanding the EDR characteristics under fundamental crash conditions and the second type involves three crash tests reconstructing typical real-world accidents for grasping the EDR performance under more complex crash conditions than J-NCAP crash tests. Data obtained from EDRs are compared with data obtained from instrumented sensors and high-speed video cameras. The velocities determined from pre-crash data and the maximum change in velocity, delta-V, obtained from post-crash data are analyzed. EDR pre-crash data shows good accuracy. In J-NCAP testing, all differences between the EDR recording value and the laboratory test velocity were less than 4%. EDR post-crash data has more difference from instrumented sensor data.