1 Copyright © 2012 by ASME
Proceedings of the ASME 2012 International Mechanical Engineering Congress & Exposition
IMECE2012
November 9-15, 2012, Houston, Texas, USA
IMECE2012-89067
AN ENHANCED ARTICULATED HUMAN BODY MODEL UNDER C4 BLAST LOADINGS
X.G. Tan
CFD Research Corp.
Huntsville, AL
R. Kannan
CFD Research Corp.
Huntsville, AL
Andrzej J. Przekwas
CFD Research Corp.
Huntsville, AL.
Kyle Ott
Johns Hopkins Univ.,
Applied Physics Lab.
Columbia, MD
Tim Harrigan
Johns Hopkins Univ.
Applied Physics Lab.
Columbia, MD
Jack Roberts
Johns Hopkins Univ.
Applied Physics Lab.
Columbia, MD
Andrew Merkle
Johns Hopkins Univ.
Applied Physics Lab.
Columbia, MD
ABSTRACT
Previously we had developed an articulated human body
model to simulate the kinematic response to the external
loadings, using CFDRC’s CoBi implicit multi-body solver. The
anatomy-based human body model can accurately account for
the surface loadings and surface interactions with the
environment. A study is conducted to calibrate the joint
properties (for instance, the joint rotational damping) of the
articulated human body by comparing its response with those
obtained from the PMHS test under moderate loading
conditions. Additional adjustments in the input parameters also
include the contact spring constants for joint stops at different
joint locations. By comparing the computational results with
the real scenarios, we fine tune these input parameters and
further improve the accuracy of the articulated human body
model. In order to simulate the effect of a C4 explosion on a
human body in the open field, we employ a CFD model with a
good resolution and the appropriate boundary treatment to
obtain the blast loading condition on the human body surface
more accurately. The numerical results of the blast simulation
are shown to be comparable to the test data. With the interface
to apply the blast pressure loading from the CFD simulation on
the articulated human body surface, the articulated human body
dynamics due to the C4 explosions are modeled and the
simulation results are shown to be physiological reasonable.
INTRODUCTION
We have developed an articulated human body dynamics
model in which the human body is represented accurately in
both the geometry and the inertial properties ([6]). The model
has been used to effectively acquire the kinematic response of
human body under the blast wave loading. The simulation
results provide the useful insight and boundary conditions for
the detailed injury biomechanics modeling of susceptible body
parts or joints. The developed implicit multi-body solver allows
us to use a larger time step while enforcing the kinematic
constraints well. In contrast, the explicit models (e.g.,
MADYMO model in [4]) are forced to employ small time steps
for both accuracy and stability.
In this work we have further validated the articulated human
model with the test data on Post-Mortem Human Subject
(PMHS). By comparing the acceleration and angular
acceleration at the head center of gravity, we have found
appropriate input parameters such as the spring and damping
constants at the joint locations which lead to the physiological
response of human kinematics.
The accuracy of articulated human body dynamics also depends
on how well we can capture the blast loading on the surface of
object. Many researchers have used the ConWep to generate
the blast loading ([3]). It is known that the ConWep does not
give the accurate results for a complex geometry like a human
body. Hence, we employed a CFD model to capture the blast
loading condition for the human body subjected to the C4
explosion in the open field, via a novel and efficient sequential
1D and 3D approach. The numerical treatment of the external
boundary is very challenging for the open field CFD
simulations. In our approach we created a relative large
computational domain to alleviate the artificial boundary effect.
The numerical results of the blast simulation are shown to be
comparable to the test data. After applying the blast pressure
loading resulting from the CFD simulation on the human body
surface, the articulated human body dynamics under the C4
explosions are simulated and analyzed.