Numerical models for analyzing crashworthiness of human body

The dynamic responses of head and buttock of human body in a seat subjected to impulsive loadings are studied through finite element calculation. The loading condition is given on the basis of the survival criterion of pilots/crew as the helicopter crashes vertically. The materials are selected by considering the biologic parameters that can reflect some key constitutive characteristics of general human body. There are two types of loading in the calculations, i.e., vertical impact and external loading including step loading, rectangular pulse force and triangular pulse force. From the numerical results, it is found that the high effective stresses appear at the neck of the human body for all loading conditions, which is the dangerous region. When the head is subjected to different forms of impulsive loadings, the dynamic responses of the skull are almost identical, which indicates that the dynamic response of the skull is insensitive to the loading form.