Traffic Impact Biomechanics Analyzed by Computer Simulation

Abstract

　　　PC-Crash is the most popular program for traffic accident simulation in the world. Its first version was developed by Professor Hermann Steffan at Graz University of Technology, Austria, in the early 1990s. It is being used by more than 6000 users such as experts on traffic accident reconstruction and researchers of insurance companies. The program enables simulation of occupant motion and calculation of occupant stress in collisions, as well as simulation of vehicles' three-dimensional motion and collisions. Using PC-Crash-Madymo we reconstructed a rollover accident of tall minivan in which a child was killed by skull fracture. We also carried out a crash test using a tall minivan to simulate the real accident. Through this simulation, we could observe that the occupant dummy fell down in the leaning cabin according to the vehicle's rollover, and its head was squeezed between the pillar and the road surface. Computer simulation is a very useful tool to analyze the impact biomechanics in traffic accidents, but it also needs our certain knowledge about dynamics of vehicles and collisions.