L Obergefell | PubMed Health

PubMed1997

Validation of the advanced dynamic anthropomorphic manikin (ADAM) database: horizontal sled test.

As the U.S. Air Force (USAF) continues to introduce advanced technology to make its planes more dynamic, it is becoming increasingly more difficult to adequately test the systems to ensure pilot safety. A cost effective solution to this problem is the use of computer modeling to augment testing. The accuracy of such computer modeling depends on the validity of the analytical formulation, and the correctness of the database characterizing the systems being modeled. One such database is for the large Advanced Dynamic Anthropomorphic Manikin (ADAM); a human surrogate developed by the USAF for high speed ejection testing. The database is used in the Articulated Total Body (ATB) computer model utilized by the Armstrong Laboratories to predict human body dynamics during aircraft crashes and emergency escapes. The large ADAM database, and the parameters from a horizontal sled test were used in an ATB sled simulation. The results of the ATB simulation are compared with actual sled test data. These results include head, chest, and pelvis accelerations; neck and lumbar loads; and elbow, knee, hip and shoulder angular motion. The comparisons are the basis for validating the ADAM database for future predictive simulations.

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PubMed1995

Computer simulation of human body dynamics.

Understanding human body dynamics is important in many situations, such as automobile and aircraft crashes, aircraft ejections, falls, and other acceleration environments. The design of automobile interiors, cockpits, and safety equipment requires knowledge of the forces and accelerations encountered during an emergency. Because of the limited information available from actual events and the various constraints in testing, computer simulations are often the only means of obtaining detailed information. The Armstrong Laboratory (AL) developed the Articulated Total Body (ATB) model to predict the human body dynamics in many of these environments. This model is a three-dimensional rigid body dynamics program in which the human body is modeled as a series of segments. Forces on the body segments are calculated based on their interaction with the surroundings including seat and cockpit surfaces. The model also calculates the internal joint resistive and constraint forces. Because of this capability to predict both internal and external forces acting on the body, the ATB model can be used in investigating injuries. It is also a valuable design tool for evaluating safety of proposed systems before prototypes are built or costly tests conducted. When testing is conducted, the model provides data that cannot be measured, such as forces within the body, and supplementing test data with parameter variation simulations. To validate the model, tests such as those conducted on the AL impact sled are simulated. Test films and instrumentation data are compared with simulation graphics and quantitative output to gain confidence in the simulation results.

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