Finite element dynamic structural model of the human thorax for chest impact response and injury studies

The component model modal synthesis technique has been successfully adapted to the finite element structural dynamic model of the human thorax for chest impact response and injury studies. The complete thorax was modeled as an assembly of a thorax module with viscera subsystems. The module was further subdivided into rib components. Major model development was conducted at the component level to provide cost saving and modeling flexibility. The results show that the thorax can be successfully treated as a linear system. A two-step procedure was developed to obtain viscera response. The analysis results of THORAX III, a first cut thorax model, were favorably compared with Kroell-Nahum cadaver experiments. The sensitivity of the chest response due to variation in input pulse shape and peak force were analyzed. The pulse shape can affect the force-deflection relationships while peak force affects the peak response. Further sensitivity studies and experiments are proposed.