Relationship Between Neck Strength, Anthropometric Parameters, and Gender with Head Motion under Impact Acceleration.
Abstract
With the opening of the fighter cockpit to women, it is imperative to expand the current database of responses of females to high impact acceleration environments. Since women tend to have less upper-body strength than men, it was hypothesized that they may not be able to brace their heads as effectively against the loads which occur during impact and escape. The objective of the current experimental effort was to examine the ability of subjects of both sexes to brace against an impact acceleration of -6.5 Gx or -4.0 Gy, and to attempt to identify a correlation between such ability, static strength measurements, anthropometric measurements, or any combination thereof. The isometric strength measurements correlated well with anthropomorphic measurement, but none of these proved useful in predicting the head displacement. However, a strong relationship was found for both sexes between neck force exerted just before impact and head motion in the Gx study. A weaker correlation was noted for the Gy impacts for males. It is therefore useful to estimate female resistance to impact by measuring static neck strength. In order to predict male impact resistance, the neck strength must be measured under impact conditions where the subject is highly motivated.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 1996
- Accession Number
- ADA328169
Entities
People
- Charles E. Morris
Organizations
- Armstrong Laboratory