Development of proactive anti-whiplash system through a combined computational and experimental approach

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Authors: Kalish Gunasekaran and Yuze Li—Mechanical and Material Engineering, Western University; Qi Zhang—Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Western University; Haojie Mao—Mechanical and Material Engineering/School of Biomedical Engineering, Western University

Abstract

The majority of anti-whiplash safety technologies currently in production need to be mended or replaced after each deployment, and they are not engaged until a collision occurs. Thus, the purpose of this study was to develop a proactive anti-whiplash safety system that utilizes a smart algorithm to instantaneously adjust the head restraint backset before a collision depending on the approaching condition from the rear vehicle. A total of 20 rear impacts with five different backsets and four initial seatback angles were simulated numerically using a human body FE model to investigate the influence of head restraint backset distance on cervical facet capsule joint (FCJ) strain during the impact. Experimental system testing was carried out in two driving scenarios using five volunteers. Our computational findings identified optimum seatback-angle-dependent backsets for specific scenarios and in future newly optimized backsets for testing scenarios can be easily updated in the developed physical system before a collision to reduce FCJ strain and mitigate potential whiplash injuries.

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Type: Short Communication

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