Numerical simulation of response behavior and damage regularity of human lower limbs under axial impact load

Abstract

Abstract Axial impacts to the lower extremities of personnel in events such as explosions and falls on the underside of vehicles, which are extremely hazardous to personnel, may result in serious injuries. Most of the current studies on human lower limb injuries from axial loading have not considered the restraining effect of the knee joint. In this paper, based on the THUMS human finite element model, the failure parameters of the tibia, calcaneus, and talus of the lower limb are added and verified. On this basis, the response behavior of the lower limbs of personnel under different axial loads is investigated, and the damage law is further analyzed and studied. It is found that the motion of human lower limbs under axial impact is divided into two phases: the axial motion phase and the rotation phase around the knee joint, and the lower limbs are mainly subjected to compression and bending loads, respectively. The duration of the axial motion phase is related to the impact velocity and the rate of change of velocity and affects the magnitude of tibial force.