Material Parameter Determination of an L4-L5 Motion Segment Finite Element Model Under High Loading Rates

Underbody blast (UBB) events impart vertical loads through a victim’s lumbar spine, resulting in fracture, paralysis, and disc rupture. Validated biofidelic lumbar models allow characterization of injury mechanisms and development of personal protective equipment. Previous studies have focused on lumbar mechanics under quasi-static loading. However, it is unclear how the role and response of individual spinal components of the lumbar spine change under dynamic loading. The present study leverages high-rate impacts of progressively dissected two-vertebra lumbar motion segments and Split-Hopkinson pressure bar tissue characterization to identify and validate material properties of a high-fidelity lumbar spine finite element model for UBB. The annulus fibrosus was modeled as a fiber-reinforced Mooney-Rivlin material, while ligaments were represented by nonlinear spring elements. Optimization and evaluation of material parameters was achieved by minimizing the root-mean-square (RMS) of compressive displacement and sagittal rotation for selected experimental conditions. Applying dynamic based material models and parameters resulted in a 0.42% difference between predicted and experiment axial compression during impact loading. This dynamically optimized lumbar model is suited for cross validation against whole-lumbar loading scenarios, and prediction of injury during UBB and other dynamic events.