The Effect of Impactor Location on the Validation of a Full Body Finite Element Model in Two Loading Cases

Abstract

Finite element analysis (FEA) is a tool used by many in the injury biomechanics field. FEA allows researchers to study the stresses and strains in complex loading scenarios that would be impossible to determine experimentally. A vital step toward ensuring accurate results is validation of the finite element model (FEM), which is often based on matching model results to experimental results. While care is taken in performing experiments, there are still sources of variance in empirical results like experimental error and cadaver variation. In order to mimic these, location variations of two validation cases were studied, an oblique impact to the right thoracoabdominal region and a lateral impact to the right shoulder. Five locations were studied for each case, the nominal and four variations. The object of this study was to determine model robustness, conduct a sensitivity study of the model, and to simulate experimental subject variation without the use of subject-specific models. This study utilizes the Global Human Body Models Consortium (GHBMC) midsized male model. The model reflects a global effort to develop a set of state-of-the-art full body finite element models.