Abstract
A beam-column model of the human spine subjected to a caudocephalad (+ G z ) acceleration is analyzed by the finite-difference numerical technique. It was shown that the previous analytical treatment of this problem by the assumed-mode method is valid only for either very low levels of the acceleration pulse or for very early times in the response, i.e. the loading is such that the initial configuration of the spine is little changed by the dynamics. Numerical results generated, using a 20 g step acceleration input, show that the initial configuration is so appreciably changed as to invalidate the results of the assumed-mode analysis. Any future extensions of similar continuum models of the human spine, to include other additional effects, should treat the use of classical analysis with caution and consider the efficacy of computer-aided numerical analysis by either the present finite-difference solution or the currently popular finite-element method.
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