Transportation Expertise

Crash Occupant Modeling

UMTRI researchers have considerable expertise developing and using computational crash-victim-simulation models such as MADYMO to investigate occupant kinetics and kinematics in motor-vehicle crashes. These simulations are used to assess changes in crash dummy design and dynamic performance, to investigate the causes and mechanisms of different types of injuries, and to establish appropriate test conditions for biomechanical testing in the laboratory. LS-DYNA finite element analysis software is also used to study the effects of different occupant loading conditions on tissue stresses and strains. For example, UMTRI researchers developed a finite element model (FEM) of the six-month-old infant head to estimate infant head impact response and injury tolerance using reconstructions of real-world airbag-deployment infant head injury scenarios. Currently, it is being used to study the effects of lower-extremity muscle tension on the risk of knee-thigh-hip injuries in frontal crashes of airbag/knee-bolster equipped vehicles.

Selected projects in this area:

Knee-Thigh-Hip (KTH) Response and Injury in Frontal Crashes
Sponsor: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Investigator: Jonathan Rupp
04/20/2005 - 04/19/2006

Development of Improved Knee-Thigh-Hip Injury Criteria
Sponsor: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Investigator: Jonathan Rupp
00/00/0000 - 00/00/0000

Development of Surrogate Child Restraints
Sponsor:
Investigator: Matthew Reed
00/00/0000 - 00/00/0000

Estimating Infant Head Injury Criteria and Impact Response
Sponsor: General Motors
Investigator: Kathleen DeSantis Klinich
11/01/1997 - 03/31/2000