Evaluation of effective mass during head impact due to standing falls

摘要

The objective of this study is to determine the effective mass of a head impact during a standing fall using a Humanetics™ HYBRID Ⅲ 5th percentile female and a 50th percentile male anthropomorphic test dummy (ATD). The ATDs were instrumented with an array of tri-axial accelerometers and dropped from different initial positions onto a force plate. Five scenarios of falls were conducted to study the effect of fall direction/type on the effective mass of the head impact. The effective mass for forward and backward standing falls can be estimated as the mass of the head plus 49% and 47% of the neck mass for the female and male ATDs. The lateral fall showed different response where less of the neck mass is involved resulting in an effective mass, which includes the mass of the head plus 6% and 22% of the neck mass for the female and male ATDs, respectively.