Title: Effects of ground impact on traumatic brain injury in a fender vault pedestrian crash

Authors: Atsutaka Tamura; Takao Koide; King H. Yang

Addresses: Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Tottori University, Tottori University, 4-101 Koyama-minami, Tottori 6808552, Japan ' Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Tottori University, Tottori University, 4-101 Koyama-minami, Tottori 6808552, Japan ' Wayne State University, 818 W. Hancock, Detroit, MI 48201, USA

Abstract: The present study replicated a series of vehicle-to-pedestrian crashes involved in a right-corner frontal impact up to a secondary or ground impact. The results showed that post-impact pedestrian kinematics and subsequent kinetics are not easily predictable and are considerably affected by the vehicle front structure and impact speed. The Head Injury Criterion (HIC), calculated with a resultant linear acceleration of the head, reached around 1000 or higher because of secondary head strike even at 25 km/h. Similarly, the maximum rotational acceleration of the head resulted in higher values owing to ground impact rather than primary head strike. This study has also suggested the importance of accounting for both linear and angular acceleration pulses applied to the head to assess the potential risk of sustaining Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) due to eventual contact with the ground even at low impact speeds, and this should be a focus of future research.

Keywords: pedestrian safety; pedestrian injuries; vehicle safety; SUVs; sport utility vehicles; passenger cars; ground impact; traumatic brain injury; fender vault pedestrian crashes; post-impact pedestrian kinematics; head injuries; vehicle front structure; impact speed; linear acceleration pulses; angular acceleration pulses.

DOI: 10.1504/IJVS.2015.066278

International Journal of Vehicle Safety, 2015 Vol.8 No.1, pp.85 - 100

Received: 29 Jul 2014
Accepted: 04 Sep 2014
Published online: 10 Dec 2014 *

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