Injury of Average-sized Female Pedestrians in Vehicle Collisions

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the influence of initial pedestrian motion states on the injury outcomes of average-sized female pedestrians in vehicle-pedestrian collisions. Methods: A biofidelic injury model of the Average-sized female pedestrian was developed, and a pedestrian-vehicle collision simulation platform was established. Simulations were conducted under two pedestrian walking speeds (0 and 5 km/h) and a vehicle impact speed (40 km/h) across multiple scenarios to explore the injury mechanisms of Average-sized female pedestrians during the collision process. Results: The results indicate that pedestrian gait exerts a non-linear influence on injury patterns under these two typical collision conditions. Ligament ruptures in the lower limbs were observed in both scenarios. Notably, the pedestrian with an initial velocity exhibited the highest Brain Injury Criterion (BrIC) value, suggesting a significantly higher risk of Diffuse Axonal Injury (DAI). Conclusion: Incorporating initial pedestrian kinetic energy into simulations provides a more realistic representation of the biomechanical collision process. The findings offer refined biomechanical references for the passive safety design of vehicles targeting female pedestrians in China.