Influence of the surrounding environment on the response of seated midsize male volunteers subjected to lateral sled accelerations

Abstract

Predicting vehicle occupants’ posture during evasive manoeuvres is crucial for assessing their safety in the event of a collision. Volunteer experiments have been performed in the past under lateral accelerations, both within a vehicle cabin and on a seat mounted on a sled. However, discrepancies in the volunteer responses between both setups have been identified. This study hypothesizes that the response of the volunteers differs as a consequence of the proximity to the frame in the vehicle cabin, in comparison to the absence of such a structure on the sled. The present study conducted a novel sled experiment, on which five volunteers with anthropometry comparable to the 50th percentile male were subjected to 0.3 g lateral accelerations, with three different surrounding environments. In twelve pulses, an additional lateral structure was placed to the right or left side of the seated volunteers. The volunteers were asked to either brace or relax their muscles. The results show significant differences between the configurations with and without the structure placed on the right side. This effect was observed for both the lateral excursion of the upper body and the corresponding rotation when the volunteers were relaxed (p < 0.01). The average maximum lateral head rotation decreased from 27° to 14° with the structure on the right. No significant difference in head rotation was found for the braced muscle configuration. This study supports the hypothesis that the proximity to a surrounding environment influences human responses during dynamic loading. Nevertheless, there was no significant difference in maximum muscle activation between the configurations, but a faster reaction of the sternocleidomastoid muscle with the presence of the structure.