Crashworthiness Design of the Vehicle Interior by Using Brain Pressure Tolerance and Explicit Finite Element Approach

This paper proposes a systematic computer simulation technique and uses Brain Pressure Tolerance (BPT) as a criterion to help vehicle designers evaluate interior impact occupant protection. The state-of-the-art methodology present here provides a unique insight into the relationship between the kinematics of the head motion and the associated dynamic transient response of the skull-brain structure. A three-dimensional skull-brain finite element model is used for this study This model is validated against experimental data and implemented to simulate various head impact conditions. Nonlinear explicit finite element formulation is used for analyzing the transient response of the impact. The crashworthiness design of vehicle interior structure to meet 15 mph free headform impact test has been selected as an example to demonstrate the validity of the new technique. It is also demonstrated that, an Head Injury Criterion (HIC) of 1000 may not provide sufficient protection for the short time (1-5 msec) hard surface impact.