A framework to Prediction occupant injuries in rotated seating arrangements

This paper describes an innovative computational framework that can address the passive safety of occupants and the prediction of injuries for a wide range of rotated seat arrangements in future autonomous vehicles. An Active Human Model (AHM) wearing a 3-point seat belt with kinematics previously validated using test data was positioned in the rotated seats and simulations were performed for a pre-crash braking phase followed by a frontal collision. The pre-crash braking pulse was parameterised for intensity and shape, both of which affect the collision speed. Computer routines were created to adjust the restraint system response to the impact speed, as well as the crash pulse pattern, based on a Honda Accord MY2011 Finite Element (FE) model. A Design of Experiments (DoE) study was created to explore 400 possible scenarios, and 12 standard injury responses were extracted and converted into AIS2 + and AIS3 + risk values. A Reduced Order Model (ROM), based on the Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD) technique, was trained using the 400 scenarios and used to find the seating positions that resulted in AIS2 + and AIS3 + values higher than the base values obtained with the Honda Accord MY2011 FE model. The paper concludes that this new framework is capable of carry out fast computations of dangerous seating positions and the occupant’s kinematics in seconds. The novel framework provides vehicle designers and vehicle safety teams with the capability to identify potentially dangerous positions for the rotated seating arrangements that are envisaged to feature in the cabins of future autonomous vehicles.