Approximately 1.6–3.8 million sports-related traumatic brain injuries occur each year in the U.S. Researchers track the head motion using a variety of techniques to study the head injury biomechanics. To understand how helmets provide head protection, quantification of the relative motion between the head and the helmet is necessary. The purpose of this study was to compare helmet and head kinematics and quantify the relative motion of helmet with respect to head during experimental representations of on-field American football impact scenarios. Seven helmet-to-helmet impact configurations were simulated by propelling helmeted crash test dummies into each other. Head and helmet kinematics were measured with instrumentation and an optical motion capture system. The analysis of results, from 10 ms prior to the helmet contact to 20 ms after the loss of helmet contact, showed that the helmets translated 12–41 mm and rotated up to 37 deg with respect to the head. The peak resultant linear acceleration of the helmet was about 2–5 times higher than the head. The peak resultant angular velocity of the helmet ranged from 37% less to 71% more than the head, depending on the impact conditions. The results of this study demonstrate that the kinematics of the head and the helmet are noticeably different and that the helmet rotates significantly with respect to the head during impacts. Therefore, capturing the helmet kinematics using a video motion tracking methodology is not sufficient to study the biomechanics of the head. Head motion must be measured independently of the helmet.
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August 2019
Research-Article
Relative Motion Between the Helmet and the Head in Football Impact Test
Hamed Joodaki,
Hamed Joodaki
Department of Mechanical and
Aerospace Engineering,
Center for Applied Biomechanics,
University of Virginia,
4040 Lewis and Clark Drive,
Charlottesville, VA 22911
e-mail: hj2vq@virginia.edu
Aerospace Engineering,
Center for Applied Biomechanics,
University of Virginia,
4040 Lewis and Clark Drive,
Charlottesville, VA 22911
e-mail: hj2vq@virginia.edu
Search for other works by this author on:
Jeff Crandall
Jeff Crandall
Department of Mechanical and
Aerospace Engineering,
Center for Applied Biomechanics,
University of Virginia,
Charlottesville, VA 22911
e-mail: jrc2h@virginia.edu
Aerospace Engineering,
Center for Applied Biomechanics,
University of Virginia,
4040 Lewis and Clark Drive
,Charlottesville, VA 22911
e-mail: jrc2h@virginia.edu
Search for other works by this author on:
Hamed Joodaki
Department of Mechanical and
Aerospace Engineering,
Center for Applied Biomechanics,
University of Virginia,
4040 Lewis and Clark Drive,
Charlottesville, VA 22911
e-mail: hj2vq@virginia.edu
Aerospace Engineering,
Center for Applied Biomechanics,
University of Virginia,
4040 Lewis and Clark Drive,
Charlottesville, VA 22911
e-mail: hj2vq@virginia.edu
Ann Bailey
David Lessley
James Funk
Chris Sherwood
Jeff Crandall
Department of Mechanical and
Aerospace Engineering,
Center for Applied Biomechanics,
University of Virginia,
Charlottesville, VA 22911
e-mail: jrc2h@virginia.edu
Aerospace Engineering,
Center for Applied Biomechanics,
University of Virginia,
4040 Lewis and Clark Drive
,Charlottesville, VA 22911
e-mail: jrc2h@virginia.edu
Manuscript received September 14, 2018; final manuscript received February 17, 2019; published online May 6, 2019. Assoc. Editor: Brittany Coats.
J Biomech Eng. Aug 2019, 141(8): 081006 (16 pages)
Published Online: May 6, 2019
Article history
Received:
September 14, 2018
Revised:
February 17, 2019
Citation
Joodaki, H., Bailey, A., Lessley, D., Funk, J., Sherwood, C., and Crandall, J. (May 6, 2019). "Relative Motion Between the Helmet and the Head in Football Impact Test." ASME. J Biomech Eng. August 2019; 141(8): 081006. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4043038
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