The Effect of Angle on the Chest Injury Outcome in Side Loading

Thoracic injury criteria and injury risk curves in side impact are based on impactor or sled tests, with rigid or padded surfaces while airbags are very common on current cars. Besides, the loading is generally pure lateral while real crashes or regulations can generate oblique loadings. Oblique tests were found in the literature, but no conclusion was drawn with regard to the effect of the direction on the injury outcome.

In order to address these two limitations, a series of 17 side airbag tests were performed on Post Mortem Human Subjects (PMHS) at different severities and angles. The subjects were instrumented with accelerometers on the spine and strain gauges on the ribs. They were loaded by an unfolded airbag at different distances in pure lateral or 30 degrees forward. The airbag forces ranged from 1680 N to 6300 N, the injuries being up to 9 separated fractured ribs.

This paper provides the test results in terms of physical parameters and injury outcome of the 17 subjects. Geometrical and physical characteristics of the subjects are described as well as the distribution of injuries as a function of test conditions. Then a statistical analysis is presented which gives the effect of the loading angle on the injury outcome. The results of this study provide useful data for the validation of finite element models in terms of injury prediction, as well as for the development of injury risk curves for side impact dummies.