Thor Advanced Test Dummy - Biofidelity and Injury Assessment

This paper will discuss the advances in biofidelity and injury assessment provided by the THOR Frontal Crash Test Dummy, particularly in regard to use by the aircraft safety industry. Following a brief background on the THOR development project, injury data from the Kegworth crash in 1989 will be presented to exemplify the specific types and severity of injuries which may occur in a commercial airline crash. Based on this injury data, five specific regions of the dummy (face, neck, lower abdomen, pelvis femur, and lower extremities) will be discussed in detail. The biomechanical background, mechanical design and instrumentation will be discussed for each region of the dummy. Additionally, a series of THOR impact test data will be presented to show the biofidelic response of the lower abdomen and femur pelvis knee assemblies to impact forces.