Occupant injury risk assessment and protective measures in frontal collision of a bus

ABSTRACT

A significant issue worldwide is a bus frontal collision which can result in more than 10 fatalities per incident. The study aims to develop recommendations on injury risk reduction in such frontal collisions. A LS-DYNA and MADYMO coupling method as well as sled tests were employed to investigate the effect of seat layout variables including seat pitch, height difference and back inclination angle on occupant injury to different body parts, protection measures were subsequently developed to minimise occupant injury risk. The results show that secondary collision with the front seat back can cause severe head and neck injuries.Although the lap belt can restrict the movement of the pelvis and lower limbs, the collision and relative slippage between the head and the front seat back still cause a high neck bending moment. The study further reveals that seat layout variables should be design-specified to optimal values that minimise such injuries.

KEYWORDS:

• Bus
• occupant injury risk
• frontal collision
• injury criteria
• LS DYNA and MADYMO
• secondary collision

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant 51505403 and 51605407; 2011 Program of Bus and Specialty Vehicle Research & Design Collaborative Innovation Centre in Fujian Province under Grant 2016AYF004; and the National High End Expert programme under Grant GDT20153600065.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant number 51505403], [grant number 51605407]; 2011 Program of Bus and Specialty Vehicle Research & Design Collaborative Innovation Centre in Fujian Province [grant number 2016AYF004]; National High End Expert programme [grant number GDT20153600065].