Experimental Investigation of the Response of the Human Lower Limb to the Pedestrian Impact Loading Environment

Three limbs were taken from post mortem human subjects and impacted on the lateral aspect by a free-flying (30 km/h) impactor below the knee joint. Tri-axial MHDs and tri-axial accelerometers were used to determine the kinematics of the limb; strain gages were used to measure surface strain on the tibia and femur; and acoustic sensors were used to identify the onset and timing of injury. This data set was analyzed to compute the response of the knee joint to a bumper impact. Post-test necropsy results showed that the primary injury mechanism in each case was complete avulsion of the Medial Collateral Ligament (MCL) and the Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL).