Biomechanical Research on Pediatric Restraint Methodology in Vehicle Impact

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There are various types of child restraint systems (CRS) such as five point harness, impact shield and child vest. In the regulation, child dummies are used to evaluate CRS performance. However, the shapes and characteristics of the rib cage or pelvis of dummies are different from those of the human body. Therefore, the injuries to the thorax or abdomen due to compression from restraints are difficult to evaluate in detail using crash dummies. In the present research, a 3-year-old (3YO) child human finite element (FE) model has been developed by scaling from a Total Human Model for Safety (THUMS) AM50 human FE model.The child human FE model was validated based on the requirements of 3YO child dummy certification tests. The pendulum was impacted against the thorax. The force of the human FE model has a plateau area, which is closer to the corridor scaled from AM50 cadaver responses. Lumbar spine flexion test was performed, and the force was 160 kN at 45 degree torso flexion angle, which also satisfied the requirement. The model met the requirements of thorax impact and lumbar spine flexion of a Hybrid III crash dummy.An ECE R44 sled test was simulated using the human FE model with shield-type CRS, and results were compared to the test using Hybrid III. The Hybrid III torso flexed at the lumbar spine since it has a stiff thorax spine box without joints. For the human FE model, the whole thorax flexed around the impact shield. The results demonstrated that the FE model can show more human-like behavior than Hybrid III. Potential injuries due to various CRS can be evaluated by the human FE model.