Available online:June 11, 2025, DOI:
Abstract:
During emergency landing, passengers using different anti-impact postures often produce different protective effects. A seat/passenger restraint system model based on the THUMS biomechanical dummy is established, comparing head and neck injuries in upright sitting posture, head and hand supported sitting posture, and head supported sitting posture under a 16g horizontal impact. A double-handed neck-holding anti-impact posture was proposed. By analyzing cervical axial tensile, compression force, anterior-posterior bending moment of the neck, the dynamic responses were analyzed, and the biomechanical response of the occupants, including vertebral stress, ligament elongation rate, intracranial equivalent stress, intracranial pressure, cranial equivalent stress, were analyzed. The damage assessment was conducted. Finally, the level of muscle activation was taken into consideration to explore the head and neck injuries of passengers in a state of muscle tension or relaxation. The results show that adopting an anti-impact posture can effectively reduce head and neck injuries, with the proposed double-handed neck-holding anti-impact posture reducing cervical axial force, bending moment, vertebral stress, and intracranial equivalent stress, but still carrying risks of neck soft tissue contusion and mild concussion. Tense muscles during impact can effectively reduce cervical axial force, bending moment, ligament elongation rate, intracranial equivalent stress and intracranial pressure.
