For a engineering subject at university i had to create a proposal for a possible research topic, and thought i would share it to steemit! The proposal i did create was lengthy, so I am going to share with you a condensed but informative summary of my proposal. This research proposal will hopefully enlighten you into the realm on crash test dummies, and how they can be improved allow further research into designing safer vehicles.

Research Proposal

Introduction:

Crash test dummies are used to investigate the potential of human injury in vehicle collisions, and the accuracy of the dummy to replicate a real human body in a collision is known as biofidelity [1]. This proposal will focus on increasing the biofidelity of dummies in regards to their spine. The human spine is flexible and can experience abnormal curvatures such as scoliosis, an 'S' shape of the spine; lordosis, an inward curvature of the spine; and kyphosis, an outward curvature of the spine.

Aim:

This proposal will aim to design a flexible dummy spine that can replicate scoliosis, lordosis, and kyphosis to improve biofidelity and investigate the potential of human injury when a person experiences abnormal spine curvatures. The design may allow vehicle manufacturers to design safer vehicles, especially for those experiencing abnormal spine curvatures

Review of Existing Designs:

Flexible dummy spines do already exist, and hence this research project will only briefly investigate flexiblity design as pre-exisitng ones can easily be used. A dummy spine designed by Z.J. Wang is only capable of creating kyphosis and lordosis, and at that it is unable to create extreme angles of lordosis [2]. A design by S.H. Hwang, utilises a pelvic plate to create scoliosis, and hence is limited in that it cannot create kyphosis and lordosis, and that is independent of the spine [3]. Therefore, there is no existing design for a spine that can create all spine curvatures: scoliosis, lordosis, and kyphosis, at their minimum to maximum angles of curvature.

Conclusion:

The design of a flexible and adjustable dummy spine will increase biofidelity, and potentially allow for vehicle manufacturers to design safer vehicles for humans. The design proposed will be flexible in nature and will be able to replicate the minimum and maximum angles of scoliosis, kyphosis and lordosis.

References:

[1] B. Fildes et al, "The influence of a flexible lumbar spine in far-side impact testing," International Journal of Crashworthiness, vol. 11, (3), pp. 273-280, 2006. Available: https://search-proquest-com.wwwproxy1.library.unsw.edu.au/docview/199698009?accountid=12763.

[2] Flexible surrogate spine assembly for crash test dummy, Z. J. Wang. US Patent: 9564069 Available: https://search-proquest-com.wwwproxy1.library.unsw.edu.au/docview/1868723454?accountid=12763.

[3] Apparatus for adjusting position of vertebral column of dummy model for estimating feeling of sitting in seat, S. H. Hwang, S. H. Kim, H. Y. Choi, I. B. Chang and K. M. Kim. 01)). US Patent: 7878080 Available: https://search-proquest-com.wwwproxy1.library.unsw.edu.au/docview/869808718?accountid=12763, 1101.

I hope you guys found this interesting, and if anyone of you learnt something from this - my job here is done :)
If you have any questions or comments, please leave them down below, i would love to read them.

Thank you,
Cabbage-Dealer