ABSTRACT
The study of impact biomechanics and occupant protection dates back almost a century to a fateful day in 1917 during World War I when a cadet pilot named Hugh DeHaven was the sole survivor of a mid-air collision during a training flight with the Canadian Royal Flying Corps. Occupant protection research typically involves subjecting a human to conditions that replicate those during an impact or other high acceleration event. Test subjects can be live human volunteers, post-mortem human subjects (PMHS), anthropomorphic test devices (ATDs) or animals. For military applications, the ATDs most frequently used are the Hybrid III automotive frontal dummy and the FAA Hybrid III, the latter of which is designed for primarily vertical loading vectors. ATDs also referred to as manikins, mannequins or dummies, offer the simplest solution from an engineering perspective for conducting biomechanical testing. PMHS subjects probably offer the best combination of bio fidelity, ease of instrumentation and interpretation of measured responses.
