Abstract
Head injury is the most common and fatal injury in car-pedestrian accidents. Due to the lack of human test data, real-world accident data is useful for the research on the mechanism and tolerance of head injuries. The objective of the present work is to investigate pedestrian head-brain injuries through real car-pedestrian accidents and evaluate the existed injury criteria. Seven car-to-pedestrian accidents in China were selected from the IVAC (Investigation of Vehicle Accident in Changsha) database. Accident reconstructions using multi-body models were conducted to determine the kinematic parameters associated with the injury and were used to measure head injury criteria. Kinematic parameters were input into a finite element model to run simulations on the head-brain and car interface to determine levels of brain tissue stress, strain, and brain tissue injury criteria. A binary logistic regression model was used to determine the probability of head injury risk associated with AIS3+ injuries (Abbreviated Injury Scale). The results showed that head injury criteria using kinematic parameters can effectively predict injury risk of a pedestrians’ head skull. Regarding brain injuries, physical parameters like coup/countercoup pressure are more effective predictors. The results of this study can be used as the background knowledge for pedestrian friendly car design.
Highlights
Pedestrians are the most vulnerable road users in the worldwide
Seven car-to-pedestrian accidents in China were selected from the IVAC (Investigation of Vehicle Accident in Changsha) database
A binary logistic regression model was used to determine the probability of head injury risk associated with AIS3+ injuries (Abbreviated Injury Scale)
Summary
Pedestrians are the most vulnerable road users in the worldwide. Recently in China, approximately a quarter of traffic accident deaths are pedestrians (TA 2014). Pedestrian head injuries are the most commonly occurrences in passenger family car to adult pedestrian accidents. They can lead to severe injuries and casualties in many cases. Preventing and minimizing head injuries has become a critical issue regarding a pedestrian friendly car design in respect to the existed head injury criteria. The most important is to establish robust injury criteria to comprehensively evaluate head injuries including both skull and brain structures. The previous studies related to head biomechanics have been worldwide carried out but injury criteria of brain remain controversial (Yanaoka et al 2015). Due to the lack of human test data, real-world accident data is useful for head injury related studies
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