Deflection, acceleration, and force corridors for small females in side impacts.
OBJECTIVE
This study was undertaken to develop biomechanical corridors applicable to the small-sized female in side impacts.


METHODS
Sled tests were conducted using post mortem human subjects at a velocity of 6.7 m/s. Three chestbands were used to compute deflection-time histories at the axilla, xyphoid process, and tenth rib levels. Triaxial accelerometers were fixed to the upper and lower spine and sacrum to record acceleration-time histories. Specimens contacted the load wall with varying initial conditions (rigid and padded; flat wall and offset) from which impact forces to the thoracic, abdominal, and pelvic regions were obtained using load cell data. Adopting signal processing and mass-based scaling methods, corridors were derived for forces, accelerations, and chest deflections at three levels for all initial conditions.


RESULTS
All time history corridors were expressed as mean plus/minus one standard deviation and provided in the article.


CONCLUSIONS
Acceleration-, deflection-, and force-time corridors obtained for the chest and pelvic regions of the human body will assist in the assessment of anthropomorphic test devices used in crashworthiness evaluations.
Yoganandan
Narayan
N
Department of Neurosurgery, Medical College of Wisconsin, 9200 West Wisconsin Avenue, Milwaukee, WI 53226, USA. yoga@mcw.edu
Pintar
Frank A
FA
D000005:Abdomen; D000054:Acceleration; D000063:Accidents, Traffic; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000886:Anthropometry; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D002102:Cadaver; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010388:Pelvis; D013131:Spine; D013909:Thorax