Head-to-Bonnet Impact Using Finite Element Head Model

The article focusses on the accident reconstruction involving a pedestrian impacting to the bonnet of a sport vehicle. The corresponding simulation has recourse to the YEAHM as a high-detailed FE human head and brain model. Matching thereby the demands of European regulation EC78/2009, the impact scenario is designed in in order to assess the influence of the vehicle’s bonnet design, especially by regarding its stiffening structure underneath the bonnet outer layer in terms of estimated head and brain injuries. The interpretation of the results is based on the injury criteria of H-M-H brain stress and intracranial pressure (ICP). The observation of the results for the affected lobes of the brain revealed an influence of the bonnet design to the severity of the estimated brain injury. Furthermore, the contre-coup phenomenon was noticed in all simulations, which were performed by the authors. The results proved as well, that the finite element method could be used as well as an effective tool in the stage of preliminary part design. In a conclusion, the benefit of taking in this stage of part designing also possible injury severity in expected impact scenarios into account needs to be seen in the possibility of increasing passive safety of vulnerable road users.