A multibody simulation of a human fall: Model creation and validation

This work is focused on the analysis of the fall of a human being from a given height. With reference to forensic disputes, the final subject position is often the only evidence and foreseeing the body trajectory and the respective driving force may not be trivial. This article illustrates how multibody models can be used for this aim. A multibody model of a human subject has been built, given his stature and his known mass. This model was made of 15 segments, whose inertial properties, joint centres and volumes were deduced from anthropometric databases. This model was validated against experimental tests performed on a Hybrid III dummy: it was able to reproduce the peak impact head force with an error lower than about 10%. Some examples are produced to illustrate the usefulness of this validated model as a tool for the analysis of falls, and how it can be easily parametrized to make multiple simulations with different initial conditions/environment configurations. As such it is a valuable tool for forensic analyses.