RESEARCH ON OCCUPANT INTEGRATED SAFETY UNDER AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING ON LOWER LIMB INJURIES DURING CAR ACCIDENT

Objective: This study aims to identify significant factors influencing lower limb injury trends during integrated active–passive collision processes, and further analyze the influence of automatic emergency braking (AEB) on lower limb injuries. Methods: First, an integrated active–passive simulation environment is being established. Subsequently, nine sets of simulations are being designed using the orthogonal experiment method to identify significant factors related to AEB. Finally, impact simulations are being conducted based on the significant factors, and the disparities in lower limb injuries between AEB-activated and nonactivated conditions are being compared. Results: The analysis of variance (ANOVA) shows that the duration of AEB has a significant effect on lower limb injury, and the main effect value of left femoral force increases by 19.33% (0.79[Formula: see text]kN) when AEB lasts for 300[Formula: see text]ms compared with 100[Formula: see text]ms. An acetabular fracture has been found in the AEB-activated condition, which is a serious injury not found in the AEB-nonactivated condition, indicating the importance of careful application of the AEB. Discussion and Limitations: Lower limb injuries warrant attention in future research on integrated active and passive safety. The negative effect of AEB on lower limb injury can be attributed to dangerous pre-impact body posture resulting from inadequate performance of the restraint system. The study investigates the respective levels of AEB parameters on lower limb injuries and quantitatively analyzes the effects of AEB, providing a process reference for future integrated active–passive safety assessments.