Numerical Investigation on Thorax Rib Deflections of 50th Male in Vehicle Side Oblique Pole Impact Using Human Body Model

The WorldSID-50M dummy is an advanced side impact dummy that has been adopted extensively in regulatory testing and third party testing such as Euro-NCAP and C-NCAP. However, with increased testing modalities, excessive upper thorax rib deflection was observed in some vehicle side impact tests. It is believed that interaction between arm and thorax rib causes excessive deflection of upper thorax rib in side oblique pole impact with a large side airbag, which has better protection to the shoulders of an occupant. The objectives of the study was as following: (1) Excessive upper thoracic rib deflection of WorldSID-50M dummy are presented in the side oblique pole crash tests while this observation was not found in side impact tests with the barrier. (2) The effect of the interaction between arm and thorax of a 50th male occupant on upper thorax rib deflection was studied using Human Body Models (HBMs). The study indicates that the interaction between arm and thorax ribs has minor effect on the top thorax rib deflection.