EvaRID - Anthropometric and Biomechanical Specification of a Finite Element Dummy Model of an Average Female for Rear Impact Testing

Neck injury due to low severity vehicle crashes is of worldwide concern and it is well established that the risk of such injuries are higher for females than for males, even in similar crash conditions. In addition, recently developed protective systems have shown to be less protective of females than males. Hence there is a need for improved tools when developing and evaluating the performance of protective systems for occupants.The objective of this study was to develop a finite element model of a 50th percentile female rear impact crash dummy model. The anthropometry of the 50th percentile female was specified based on data found in the scientific published literature and is called EvaRID (Eva - female/RID - Rear Impact Dummy). EvaRID is based on the same design concept as the 50th percentile male rear impact dummy, the BioRID. A first version, EvaRID V1.0, was developed in LSDyna. The dynamic response of EvaRID V1.0 was compared to data from rear impact tests with female volunteers. It was found that it is necessary to further adjust the stiffness of the joints in the spine in order to fully mimic the motion of the volunteers. In future, the EvaRID dummy model has the potential to be a valuable tool when evaluating and developing seats and whiplash protection systems