Geometric Variabilities and Their Effects on Impact Responses in Midsize Male and Female Occupants

The objective of this study is to use parametric human body models (HBMs) to understand how geometric variability among individuals who have the same sex, stature, and body weight may affect the impact responses and injury outcomes, using midsize male and midsize female populations as representative cases. Methods were developed to quantify skeletal and external body surface variations using principal component analysis, regression, and residual error analysis. Based on this analysis, nine midsize male and nine midsize female geometric models were created, focusing on ribcage and pelvis variations, which account for most of the observed variability. These geometries were then applied to morph the simplified Global Human Body Model Consortium (GHBMC) midsize male model, producing 18 distinct HBMs. Each morphed HBM was subjected to nine impact scenarios, resulting in a total of 162 simulations to assess the effects of geometric variability. Substantial geometric variation was observed in the ribcage and pelvis, while the femur and tibia showed minimal variability for both midsize males and females. All morphed HBMs had good mesh quality, and all crash simulations terminated normally without error. Component-level tests showed relatively minor differences in impact responses among HBMs with identical sex, stature, and body weight. However, the United States New Car Assessment Program (US-NCAP) frontal crash simulations revealed considerable differences in injury risk, especially in the front passenger position. These findings highlight the importance of accounting for geometric variability, even among HBMs with the same sex, stature, and body weight, when evaluating injury risks in severe frontal crashes. It is especially important to consider ribcage geometry variations, which could impact occupant sitting height, posture, and injury risks at different body regions in frontal crashes. This study demonstrated that future virtual testing frameworks using HBMs should consider human geometric variations, especially in the ribcage and pelvis, when assessing injury risks in vehicle frontal crashes.