J021021 Investigation of Conditions for Laceration to Occur Due to Contact with Curvatured Edge : Blade Penetration Test against Skin Substitution Material

Abstract

Skin laceration often occurs in daily life due to contact with curvatured edge of manufactured product in an accident. In this study, mechanical conditions for skin laceration to occur due to contact with curvatured edge were experimentally investigated by pressing several curvatured blades into a skin substitution material using a universal testing machine. The skin substitution material was made from silicon rubber, and has good agreement with published human skin characteristic data in terms of mechanical properties. During the penetration tests, reaction force and penetration level as well as deformation behavior of the skin substitution material were obtained and then analyzed to determine the mechanical conditions for rupture to occur. It was found that blade with small radius of curvature causes rupture more easily than blade with larger radius of curvature. Furthermore, radius of curvature of the blade also shows a strong linear relationship with reaction force and penetration level at the time when the rupture occurs.