INJURIES SUSTAINED BY PEDESTRIANS STRUCK BY THE FRONT OF CARS ARE DEPENDENT ON THE PROFILE AND THE LOCAL STIFFNESS CHARACTERISTICS OF THE VEHICLE. MATHEMATICAL CRASH VICTIM MODELS, IF WELL-VALIDATED, COULD PROVIDE A SUITABLE METHOD FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF PEDESTRIAN PROTECTION PROVIDED BY DIFFERENT CAR CONTOURS. A REVIEW IS PRESENTED OF A NUMBER OF EXISTING PEDESTRIAN MODELS ALONG WITH THE ASSOCIATED VALIDATION STUDIES. ON THE BASIS OF THIS REVIEW AND RESULTS OF RECENT ACCIDENT ANALYSIS STUDIES A SERIES OF PEDESTRIAN MODELS WITH VARYING COMPLEXITY WERE DEVELOPED USING THE CRASH VICTIM SIMULATION PROGRAM MADYMO. THE PREDICTIONS OF THESE MODELS ARE COMPARED WITH EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS FOR TWO IMPACT VELOCITIES AND THE RELIABILITY WITH RESPECT TO THEIR COMPLEXITY IS DISCUSSED.(A) FOR THE COVERING ABSTRACT OF THE CONFERENCE SEE IRRD 802816.
Samenvatting