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8315765 
Journal Article 
Numerical investigation of vehicle occupant injury risks in underbody blast events 
Wang, B; He, Y; Nie, B; Xu, S; Zhang, J 
2020 
1 
Qinghua Daxue Xuebao
ISSN: 1000-0054 
60 
11 
902-909 
Chinese 
Landmines and improvised explosive devices have caused many casualties in recent conflicts. A model including the occupant, the vehicle and the explosion flow field was developed to analyze occupant injuries resulting from underbody blast. The fluid-structure coupling algorithm of LS-DYNA was used to simulate the blast effect on the vehicle hull, the transmission path of the blast load and the occupant kinematic response. Head, spine, pelvis and lower extremity injury risks were investigated for 6 kg and 8 kg TNT explosion cases using a finite element human body model. The simulations show that for belted occupants, the ankle-foot complex, tibia and fibula have the highest risk of injury, followed by the pelvis and thoracolumbar spine. These results can be used to design vehicle protection systems to improve occupant safety. © 2020, Tsinghua University Press. All right reserved. 
Automotive safety; Finite element human body model; Injury biomechanics; Lower extremity; Underbody blast