Numerical simulation of the dynamic response of thoracolumbar spine in impact of ejection

Abstract

Pilots have been often sustained ejection-induced spine trauma and investigation of dynamic response of spine benefit for the insight of injury mechanism and design of protective device under ejection condition. This study developed a nonlinear finite element (FE) model of the thoracolumbar spine and a multi-body dynamic model of dummy respectively. The kinetic data of multi-body model and stress information of FE model have been analyzed. It can be found that ejection impact induces obvious axial compression and anterior flexion of the spine, which may contribute to the incidence of spinal injury. The high stress was located in T1 and L1 which has more risk of injury during impact loading. The combination of FE method and multi-body dynamic approach provides a convenient tool for studying occupants restrained by seat belts, such as drives, aviators, etc.