Unembalmed, human cadavers were used in direct-contact, airbag-interaction deployments to assess the influence of upper-extremity inertia during vehicle deceleration on the likelihood and severity of airbag-induced forearm fractures. Comparisons were made for static and dynamic test configurations. Dynamic conditions were simulated by accelerating the steering-wheel/airbag module assembly toward the cadaver at the time of airbag deployment, with the cadaver forearm in contact with the airbag module. The results of the dynamic simulations suggest that the increased inertia of dynamic simulations suggest that the increased inertia of the upper extremity due to crash deceleration does not influence the incidence or severity of forearm fractures resulting from direct forearm airbag interaction. Also, the inertial loading of the airbag by the forearm did not significantly change the deployment characteristics of the airbag. The results of this study reinforce the efficacy of conducting static airbag deployments to assess airbag aggressivity and the potential for forearm fractures. The results also support the use of a simple kinematic measure, such as peak distal foream speed (PDFS) or average distal foream speed (ADFS), for the prediction of airbag-induced upper-extremity fractures. (A)
Abstract