Research On The Construction Of Finite Element Models Of A Child’s Upper Limb And The Application For Automotive Crash

With the number of cars of China increasing dramatically, the number of traffic accidents rises sharpely. Although air-bags have reduced the risk of fatal injuries in automobile collisions, they have increased the incidence of some nonfatal injuries including upper extremity injuries. Based on the anatomy,the finite element model of upper extremity of a6years old child was made,which can be used in vehicle safety design. It is also important for reducing upper extremity injuries during the car accidents.Based on the anatomy structure of upper limb,a high biofidelity FE model of upper extremity was modeled. Scapula,humerus, ulna and radius were included. Firstly, with the help of MIMICS,which is the software of medical imaging, the skeletal parts were extracted from the CT image of a6years old child. Then the geomentry was imported to the software Geomagic studio and was edited to be more smooth. After this job,a CAD model of Non-Uniform Rational B-Splines was completed. Secondly, we used TrueGrid and Hypermesh to mesh the geomentry model and check the elements. The material properties were set in the Hypermesh. In the end, according to the cadaver test,the model was validated in the Pam-Crash after the boundary conditions were set.In this research, Pam-Crash, which is a software for finite element analysis, is also be used to simulate humerus’ three point bending test. The model is validated by this simulation. The result indicated that, the curve of Force-Displacement is approaching to the one in the cadaver test. Thus we could conclude that the model has a high biofidelity and can be used to study the upper limb biomechanical response and to investigate the injury parameters.Based on the impact response of finite element model of child’s humerus. A full idea of consummating the finite element model of the whole upper extremity was formed. It will also make a good foundation for the research on the finite element model of the whole body. Besides, it will provide the theory basis for the vehicle safety design.