Validation of the advanced dynamic anthropomorphic manikin (ADAM) database: horizontal sled test

As the U.S. Air Force (USAF) continues to introduce advanced technology to make its planes more dynamic, it is becoming increasingly more difficult to adequately test the systems to ensure pilot safety. A cost effective solution to this problem is the use of computer modeling to augment testing. The accuracy of such computer modeling depends on the validity of the analytical formulation, and the correctness of the database characterizing the systems being modeled. One such database is for the large Advanced Dynamic Anthropomorphic Manikin (ADAM); a human surrogate developed by the USAF for high speed ejection testing. The database is used in the Articulated Total Body (ATB) computer model utilized by the Armstrong Laboratories to predict human body dynamics during aircraft crashes and emergency escapes. The large ADAM database, and the parameters from a horizontal sled test were used in an ATB sled simulation. The results of the ATB simulation are compared with actual sled test data. These results include head, chest, and pelvis accelerations; neck and lumbar loads; and elbow, knee, hip and shoulder angular motion. The comparisons are the basis for validating the ADAM database for future predictive simulations.