TIIE DEVEWPMENT OF AN IMPROVED ATD HEADFORM wrm A FRANGIBLE FACIAL INSERT

B.M. Gallup, B.H. Hallgrimsson, C.E. Cotton, T .A. Smith, J.A. Newman Biokinetics and Associates Ltd. Ott awa, Canada DJ. Dalmotas Transport Canada Ott awa, Canada As part of Transport Canada's on-going occupant injury protection program, a frangible faceform has been developed to monitor for facial bone fracture in motor vehicle testing. This paper details the history of the work associated with this project. Included are the results of an extensive program of component testing as weil as full scale car crash testing. /NTRODUCTION This paper describes the completion of work on the development of a frangible facial insert. Some of the background material previously described by Newman and Gallup (1) is summarized here for completeness. Despite the increased use of seat belts in automobiles, the head and face remains one of the more frequently injured body re�ons. In a Transport Canada study of 100 injury-producing frontal collisions involvm� 121 fully restrained occupants, 69 occupants sustained a head and/or a facial inJury of AIS 2 or greater. Tue two predominant · facial injury types consisted of 27 lacerations and 22 fractures. In addition 37 of the 69 occupants sustained concussions. lt was noted that drivers are far more susceptible to facial injury than right front passengers due to the presence of the steenng wheel assembly (1). In an analysis by Tarriere et al (2) of 405 fully belted drivers involved in frontal collisions, 74 (18%) sustained a head strike against the steering wheel. Tue face was involved in 92% of these cases. Gloyi:is et al (3) made an analysis of seriously injured restrained drivers in frontal collisions. Tue severity levels m this sample for the head and face region ranged from the AIS 1 to 5 level, and were predominantly at the AIS 2 level. Of these, 85% sustained soft tissue injury to the face, 22% bad lacerations requiring suturing, 31 % sustained a facial bone fracture, and 22% received some level of concussion. Half of the occupants with a facial bone fracture sustained a concussion. Two­ thirds of the detected contacts were found on the hub and spokes of the steering wheel.