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.

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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.

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