Influence of occupant collision state parameters on the lumbar spinal injury during frontal crash

INTRODUCTION: Developed a detailed finite element model of spine and validated with the experimental or cadaveric tests to gain insight on occupant safety. OBJECTIVES: This study evaluates the influence of occupant collision state parameters such as height of the drop, occupant seating posture (occupant posture angle) and mass of the upper body on the risk of lumbar spinal injury during a frontal crash. METHODS: This parametric evaluation utilizing response surface methodology (RSM) performed. ANOVA was used to test the significance of parameters. RESULTS: Higher axial force of 3547 N is observed with higher dropping distance of 1500 mm. Similarly, higher strain and energy absorption were observed for the same dropping condition respectively. CONCLUSION: The result shows that all the factors considered in the experiment contribute to the risk of spinal lumbar injury during the frontal crash. Among all, height of the drop and the occupant posture angle are the most significant parameters in determining the lumbar spinal injury of occupant. It is observed that the injury criteria are directly proportional to the posture angle of the seat and height of drop.