Understanding Lower Leg Injury in Offset Frontal Crash : A Multivariate Analysis

Sammanfattning: Lower leg injury is an important issue in frontal car crash. Although safety in cars has been improved by developments such as seat belts and airbags, lower leg injuries have not been reduced. These injuries are not life threatening but can result in long term disability and cost a lot to society. This study focused on the passenger occupant in offset frontal crashes and aimed at understanding and finding ways to reduce the injury criteria for the lower leg: tibia index. A finite element model was simplified to introduce parameters which influence on tibia index was investigated with a multivariate analysis. The model simplification consisted in removing irrelevant parts and replacing other parts by simple foam blocks. More than 1300 simulations were run with different parameter values. The results were then analysed by calculating correlations and effects of the parameters on tibia index. It was concluded that the presence of a knee bolster decreased tibia index. The results also showed a decrease of tibia index when the toe pan was angled towards the legs of the passenger. Moreover, a correlation between tibia index and the movement of the feet during the crash was found. It was concluded that restrained lower legs also presented decreased tibia indices compared to unrestrained ones. Most of the results proved to be also valid on the initial, unsimplified finite element model.