Development and preliminary validation of the numerical model of an instrumented human head replica to assess helmets effectiveness

<p>Engineering of Sport 15 - Proceedings from the 15th International Conference on the Engineering of Sport (ISEA 2024)</p> <p>Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) are a leading cause of death and disability worldwide. The availability of sensorized biofidelic head replicas, along with the corresponding validated finite element (FE) models, would provide a new tool for the experimental assessment of helmets effectiveness, in parallel to the detailed FE models of the human head. An instrumented human head replica (IHHR) was developed at the University of Padova in collaboration with Mid Sweden University. The inclusion of sensorised cerebrospinal fluidmeninges-brain simulants in the IHHR enables the assessment of brain damage by means of sensors embedded in the IHHR, thus improving the reproduction of injury mechanisms. The present work reports the development and preliminary validation of the numerical model of this replica, by means of unprotected drop tests on anvils.  </p>