The effect of including a fetus in the uterus model on the risk of fetus mortality through drop test and frontal crash simulations

ABSTRACT

Computational modelling is an effective way of estimating the risk of injuries and fatalities in road traffic accidents. Computational pregnant occupant modelling has an additional important role in the investigation of the risk of fetus mortality in crash test simulations. In this paper, the effect of including the fetus in the uterus of the pregnant occupant model is investigated. First, isolated drop test simulations with the uterus of the computational pregnant occupant model, ‘Expecting’, with and without a fetus are used to show the effect of the presence of fetus in the uterus model. Then ‘Expecting’ with and without the fetus is used with varying levels of restraint system use, such as fully restrained, ‘seatbelt only’, ‘airbag only’ and ‘no restraint’, in frontal crash simulations, representing five levels of impacts. Maximum strains developed in the uteroplacental interface with and without a fetus are compared in every case. Both simulations predict higher risks of placental abruption when the fetus is included in the model. Simulations with and without a fetus model show that inclusion of a 38-week fetus model causes higher strains in the placental region of uterus.

KEYWORDS:

• Pregnant, occupant
• fetus
• crash
• safety
• modelling
• simulations

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, UK) and Loughborough University IMCRC (Innovative Manufacturing and Construction Research Centre) for funding pregnant occupant modelling research projects and MADYMO for educational rates. The authors would also like to thank Loughborough University for the PhD scholarship for M.Meric.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.