Numerical Low-Back Booster Analysis on a 6-Year-Old Infant during a Frontal Crash Test

I L Cruz-Jaramillo,L Martínez-Sáez,O Cortes-Vásquez,C R Torres-San-Miguel

doi:10.1155/2018/2359262

Abstract

This work studies descriptively the Head Injury Criterion (HIC) and Chest Severity Index (CSI), with a finite element model of the Hybrid III dummy type, for six-year-old subjects in a frontal vehicular collision, using the low-back booster (LBB) passive safety system. The vehicle seats and the passive safety systems were modelled in CAD (computer aided design) software. Then, the elements were analysed by the finite element method (FEM) in LS-DYNA® software. The boundary conditions were established for each study, according to the regulations established by the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS), following the FMVSS 213 standard. The numerical simulations were performed during an interval of 120 ms and recording results every 1 ms. In order to analyse the efficiency of the system, the restraint performance of the LBB system is compared with the restraint configuration of the vehicle safety belt (VSB) only. The obtained injury criteria with the LBB system shows its ability to protect children in a frontal collision. The analyses allow obtaining the deceleration values to which the dummy head and chest was subjected. Of the studies herein performed, Study I: VSB obtained a HIC36 of 730.4 and CSI of 315.5, while Study II: LBB obtained a HIC36 of 554.3 and CSI of 281.9. The outcome shows that the restraint efficiency of each studied case differs. Used materials, the attachment system of the LBB, and the belt restraint system properly placed over the infant trunk are the main factors reducing the injury criteria rate.

Highlights

More than 260,000 children die worldwide as result of traffic collisions; it is estimated that up to 10 million of them suffer nonfatal injuries
The boundary conditions were established for each study, according to the regulations established by the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS), following the FMVSS 213 standard
In order to analyse the efficiency of the system, the restraint performance of the low-back booster (LBB) system is compared with the restraint configuration of the vehicle safety belt (VSB) only

Summary

Introduction

More than 260,000 children die worldwide as result of traffic collisions; it is estimated that up to 10 million of them suffer nonfatal injuries. Trauma caused by traffic accidents are the second cause of death for children aged 5–14 years. The 22.3% of children who died during 2004 from 0 to 14 years old were involved in traffic accidents, of which the ones aged 5–9 years showed the highest mortality rate [1]. In Mexico, between 2000 and 2010, 17,700 children under the age of 15 have died in traffic accidents [2]. In 2011, traffic accidents in Mexico City became the third cause of death for children aged 5 to 9 years, as well as the fourth for children aged 10 to 14 years [3]. In 1972, the first Federal Safety Standard for children occupying vehicles FMVSS 213 (Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard) was issued, which specifies the requirements for infant seats to be marketed in the United States of America [4]

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion