Occupant protection modeling and injury prediction for NASA human exploration spacecraft

Abstract

Finite element models (FEMs) of both small female and large male anthropomorphic test devices (ATDs) were developed and validated for use in occupant protection analysis for NASA human exploration spacecraft. These models are an important component of the suite of predictive tools which will be used to determine the risk of crew injuries due to spacecraft dynamic loadings. Physical ATD testing and correlation of test results to model predictions was performed to assess uncertainties associated with the FEMs ability to predict ATD responses to spaceflight loading environments. Both quantitative and qualitative metrics were used to assess model correlation quality. Model uncertainty factors were then determined for both small female and large male ATDs for each injury metric specified in NASA requirements.