A simplified human head finite element model for brain injury assessment of blunt impacts

Authors

  • M.H.A. Hassan Innovative Manufacturing, Mechatronics and Sports Lab (iMAMS), Faculty of Manufacturing and Mechatronics Engineering Technology, Universiti Malaysia Pahang, 26600 Pekan, Pahang, Malaysia Phone: +6094245854; Fax: +6094245888
  • Z. Taha Innovative Manufacturing, Mechatronics and Sports Lab (iMAMS), Faculty of Manufacturing and Mechatronics Engineering Technology, Universiti Malaysia Pahang, 26600 Pekan, Pahang, Malaysia
  • I. Hasanuddin Department of Mechanical Engineering, Syiah Kuala University, Banda Aceh, Aceh, Indonesia
  • A.P.P.A. Majeed Innovative Manufacturing, Mechatronics and Sports Lab (iMAMS), Faculty of Manufacturing and Mechatronics Engineering Technology, Universiti Malaysia Pahang, 26600 Pekan, Pahang, Malaysia.
  • H. Mustafa Faculty of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, 86400 Parit Raja, Batu Pahat, Johor, Malaysia.
  • N. A. Othman Faculty of Electrical & Electronics Engineering Technology,Universiti Malaysia Pahang, 26600 Pekan, Pahang, Malaysia.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15282/jmes.14.2.2020.01.0513

Keywords:

Human head, finite element model, brain injury, blunt impact, low computational cost

Abstract

Blunt impacts contribute more than 95% of brain trauma injuries in Malaysia. Modelling and simulation of these impacts are essential in understanding the mechanics of the injuries to develop a protective equipment that might prevent brain trauma. Various finite element models of human head have been developed, ranging from two-dimensional models to very complex three-dimensional models. The aim of this study is to develop a simplified three-dimensional human head model with low computational cost, yet capable of producing reliable brain responses. The influence of different head-neck boundary conditions on the brain responses were also examined. Our model was validated against an experimental work on human cadaver. The model with free head-neck boundary condition was found to be in good agreement with experimental results. The head-neck joint was found to have a significant influence on the brain responses upon impact. Further investigations on the head-neck joint modelling are needed. Our simplified model was successfully validated against experimental data on human cadaver and could be used in simulating blunt impact scenarios.

Downloads

Published

2020-06-30

How to Cite

[1]
M. Hassan, Z. Taha, I. Hasanuddin, A. Majeed, H. Mustafa, and N. A. Othman, “A simplified human head finite element model for brain injury assessment of blunt impacts”, J. Mech. Eng. Sci., vol. 14, no. 2, pp. 6538–6547, Jun. 2020.

Issue

Section

Article