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Institute: search.filters.UBSInstitut.Institut für Technische und Numerische MechanikAuthor: search.filters.author.Siebert, Tobias

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Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Improving the accuracy of musculotendon models for the simulation of active lengthening
    (2023) Millard, Matthew; Kempter, Fabian; Stutzig, Norman; Siebert, Tobias; Fehr, Jörg
    Vehicle accidents can cause neck injuries which are costly for individuals and society. Safety systems could be designed to reduce the risk of neck injury if it were possible to accurately simulate the tissue-level injuries that later lead to chronic pain. During a crash, reflexes cause the muscles of the neck to be actively lengthened. Although the muscles of the neck are often only mildly injured, the forces developed by the neck’s musculature affect the tissues that are more severely injured. In this work, we compare the forces developed by MAT_156, LS-DYNA’s Hill-type model, and the newly proposed VEXAT muscle model during active lengthening. The results show that Hill-type muscle models underestimate forces developed during active lengthening, while the VEXAT model can more faithfully reproduce experimental measurements.
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    On the validation of human body models with a driver-in-the-loop simulator
    (2018) Kempter, Fabian; Fehr, Jörg; Stutzig, Norman; Siebert, Tobias
    For the development of modern integrated safety systems, standard simulation models of anthropometric test devices, often called crash test dummies, are inappropriate for Pre-Crash investigations due to missing activation possibilities, tuned characteristics for one specific accident scenario and high passive stiffness properties. To validate safety concepts getting active prior to the crash new tools like suitable virtual models of human occupants are required. Human Body Models (HBM) provide a higher biofidelity and can be equipped with active muscle elements enabling different muscle activation strategies. To improve the muscle activation strategy and the stiffness properties of active HBMs, validation processes on the basis of low-acceleration experiments are inevitable. In contrast to Post Mortem Human Surrogates only low-severity tests can be performed with real human subjects. This paper presents the workflow of a validation process based on an academic scale Driver-in-the-Loop (DiL) simulator in combination with a synchronized measurement chain consisting of an Optitrack stereo vision and an electromyography detection system.
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    Role of rotated head postures on volunteer kinematics and muscle activity in braking scenarios performed on a driving simulator
    (2022) Kempter, Fabian; Lantella, Lorena; Stutzig, Norman; Fehr, Jörg; Siebert, Tobias
    Occupants exposed to low or moderate crash events can already suffer from whiplash-associated disorders leading to severe and long-lasting symptoms. However, the underlying injury mechanisms and the role of muscle activity are not fully clear. Potential increases in injury risk of non-nominal postures, i.e., rotated head, cannot be evaluated in detail due to the lack of experimental data. Examining changes in neck muscle activity to hold and stabilize the head in a rotated position during pre-crash scenarios might provide a deeper understanding of muscle reflex contributions and injury mechanisms. In this study, the influence of two different head postures (nominal vs. rotation of the head by about 63 ± 9° to the right) on neck muscle activity and head kinematics was investigated in simulated braking experiments inside a driving simulator. The braking scenario was implemented by visualization of the virtual scene using head-mounted displays and a combined translational-rotational platform motion. Kinematics of seventeen healthy subjects was tracked using 3D motion capturing. Surface electromyography were used to quantify muscle activity of left and right sternocleidomastoideus (SCM) and trapezius (TRP) muscles. The results show clear evidence that rotated head postures affect the static as well as the dynamic behavior of muscle activity during the virtual braking event. With head turned to the right, the contralateral left muscles yielded higher base activation and delayed muscle onset times. In contrast, right muscles had much lower activations and showed no relevant changes in muscle activation between nominal and rotated head position. The observed delayed muscle onset times and increased asymmetrical muscle activation patterns in the rotated head position are assumed to affect injury mechanisms. This could explain the prevalence of rotated head postures during a crash reported by patients suffering from WAD. The results can be used for validating the active behavior of human body models in braking simulations with nominal and rotated head postures, and to gain a deeper understanding of neck injury mechanisms.