Side Impact: Influence of Impact Conditions and Bone Mechanical Properties on Pelvic Response Using a Fracturable Pelvis Model 2006-22-0004

This study aimed at determining the influence of impact conditions and occupant mechanical properties on pelvic response in side impact. First, a fracturable pelvis model was developed and validated against dynamic tests on isolated pelvic bones and on whole cadavers. By coupling a fixed cortical bone section thickness within a single subject's pelvis and across the population with a parametric material law for the pelvic bone, this model reproduced the pelvic response and tolerance variation among individuals. Three material laws were also identified to represent fragile, medium and strong pelvic bones for the 50th percentile male. With this model, the influence of impact mass, velocity and surface shape on pelvic response was examined. Results indicated that the shape difference between four main impactors reported in the literature has little effect on the pelvic response. Under iso-energy conditions, the relationship of pelvic loading between different combinations of impact mass and velocity was also determined. Based on this relationship, existing data from different impactor tests were scaled and combined to establish a pelvic response corridor in terms of pelvis loading versus impact energy. The relationship between bone mechanical properties and pelvic response and tolerance was also investigated with this model. Results indicated that changes in the mechanical properties due to ageing affected the pelvic tolerance more than the pelvic mechanical response. Assuming that the ultimate stress of the pelvic bone decreases 0.4% per year from 25 to 80 years old, the pelvic tolerance should be scaled by 0.4% per year while the pelvic loading response should be scaled only by 0.1% per year. Finally, it is to be noted that the model developed in this paper is a “global” model, not a “descriptive” model. Therefore, while it may be a useful tool for the analysis presented in this paper (e.g., overall fracture tolerance, overall effects of age, etc.), it cannot be used for detailed analyses (e.g., fracture locations, number of fractures, etc.).