Finite Element Simulation of Impact of Autonomous Vehicle with Human Body Model in Out-of-Position Configuration

The goals of this MSc Thesis, developed in cooperation with the Centro Ricerche Fiat (CRF), are to investigate the opportunities opened by the use of the Human Body Models (HBMs) for the evaluation of the occupant protection of a vehicle in case of impact. Moreover, the behaviour of the occupant in crashes for a Level 3 Autonomous Vehicle (AV) are analysed. To this aim, both the standard driving position and out-of-position (OOP) configurations allowed by AV are considered. The differences and the advantages/disadvantages in the use of HBMs for the occupant protection with respect to a traditional crash dummy models are highlighted: the results of the THUMS HBM in standard driving configurations are therefore compared with the ones of the THOR Dummy FE Model. In addition, the main possible guidelines for the operational use of the HBMs within the numerical simulations for the occupant protection are identified and drawn up.