Biomedical subjects

Ronald de Lange

Publications and source records attributed to Ronald de Lange.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

Objective biofidelity rating of a numerical human occupant model in frontal to lateral impact.

Both hardware crash dummies and mathematical human models have been developed largely using the same biomechanical data. For both, biofidelity is a main requirement. Since numerical modeling is not bound to hardware crash dummy design constraints, it allows more detailed modeling of the human and offering biofidelity for multiple directions. In this study the multi-directional biofidelity of the MADYMO human occupant model is assessed, to potentially protect occupants under various impact conditions. To evaluate the model's biofidelity, generally accepted requirements were used for frontal and lateral impact: tests proposed by EEVC and NHTSA and tests specified by ISO TR9790, respectively. A subset of the specified experiments was simulated with the human model. For lateral impact, the results were objectively rated according to the ISO protocol. Since no rating protocol was available for frontal impact, the ISO rating scheme for lateral was used for frontal, as far as possible. As a result, two scores show the overall model biofidelity for frontal and lateral impact, while individual ratings provide insight in the quality on body segment level. The results were compared with the results published for the THOR and WorldSID dummies, showing that the mathematical model exhibits a high level of multi-directional biofidelity. In addition, the performance of the human model in the NBDL 11G oblique test indicates a valid behavior of the model in intermediate directions as well. A new aspect of this study is the objective assessment of the multi-directional biofidelity of the mathematical human model according to accepted requirements. Although hardware dummies may always be used in regulations, it is expected that virtual testing with human models will serve in extrapolating outside the hardware test environment. This study was a first step towards simulating a wider range of impact conditions, such as angled impact and rollover.

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PubMed2004

WorldSID Dummy Head-Neck Biofidelity Response.

Accident studies indicate that serious neck injuries are generally infrequent in side crashes. However, given the rapid changes in side impact protection technology, such as side airbags and curtain systems, the nature of head-neck interactions is likely to change. Consequently, the newest generation of anthropomorphic test devices for side impact should provide realistic prediction of the head-neck kinematics and include meaningful measurements related to risk of head and neck injury. The WorldSID dummy has been assessed against a set of five test conditions that have been used to define biofidelity impact response targets. Three of the five test conditions are recommended by ISO TR9790 (ISO 1997), the NBDL 7.2 G, 6.9 m/s lateral sled impact reported by Ewing et al. (1977) and Wismans et al. (1986) , the Patrick and Chou lateral, 6.7 G 5.8 m/s (1976) and Tarriere lateral 12.2 g, 6,1 m/s sled impact (ISO 1997). Due to its expected loading environment, the dummy neck performance has also been evaluated for neck bending in frontal flexion and extension (Mertz and Patrick, 1971). The 5th test condition is the NBDL 45 degrees frontal-oblique sled test (Wismans 1986, Philippens 2004). The latter and two of the ISO TR9790 test conditions form the basis of the draft IHRA requirements for evaluating side impact dummy biomechanical responses. The paper reports on the findings of the assessment of the WorldSID pre-production dummy. The Mertz and Patrick OC moment-head angle corridor is used as supplemental requirement for frontal flexion-extension. The biofidelity requirements contain both kinematic and dynamic response targets. The neck has a good performance for NBDL lateral and Tarriere requirements, and the Mertz OC moment-flexion angle. The performance for the Patrick and Chou, the NBDL oblique test conditions and the Mertz OC moment extension angle are fair to marginal. The repeatability performance of the dummy was found to be good for all lateral and most oblique test parameters. The neck design does not allow much more further optimization without fundamental changes.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2003

Improving pedestrian safety using numerical human models.

Pedestrian accidents are one of the main causes of traffic fatalities and injuries worldwide. New pedestrian safety regulations are being proposed in Europe and Japan to improve the protection afforded to pedestrians. Numerical simulations with biofidelic pedestrian models can be used to efficiently assess the risk to injury in pedestrian-vehicle impacts and to optimize the pedestrian protection in the early stages of the vehicle design process at relatively low costs. The goal of this study was to develop and validate a scaleable mid-size male pedestrian model. The model parameters were derived from published data and a large range of impactor tests. The biofidelity of the model has been verified using a range of full pedestrian-vehicle impact tests with a large range in body sizes (16 male, 2 female, height 160-192 cm, weight 53.5-90 kg). The simulation results were objectively correlated to the experimental data. Overall, the model predicted the measured response well. In particular the head kinematics were accurately predicted, indicated by global correlation scores over 90 %. The correlation score for the bumper forces and accelerations of various body parts was lower (47-64 %), which was largely attributed to the limited information available on the vehicle contact characteristics (stiffness, damping, deformation). Also, the effects of the large range in published leg fracture tolerances on the predicted risk to leg fracture by the pedestrian model were analyzed in detail. The validated mid-size male model was scaled to a range of body sizes, including children and females.

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