A Numerical Study on the E ect of Accident Con guration on Pedestrian Lower Extremity Injuries

An FE model of a pedestrian lower legform impactor has been developed and certi ed, both statically and dynamically, based on EEVC-WG17 requirements. The legform is then utilized in a series of 40 km/hr pedestrian accident analyses to assess the protection level delivered by a typical sedan vehicle. The values of maximum tibia acceleration, maximum knee bending angle, and maximum knee shearing displacement have been extracted for 25 di erent accident con gurations and compared with their admissible ranges. It has been shown that tibia acceleration is mainly in uenced by extension of the area transferring the impact load between the legform and the vehicle. However, variations of vehicle front-end structure geometry and sti ness in the vertical direction have been found to be the most decisive parameters in the level of legform knee maximum bending rotation and maximum shearing displacement. Keywords: Pedestrian accident; Lower extremity injury; Bumper design