Biomechanics & Occupant Motion

Dr. Chandrashekhar K. Thorbole , received his Masters and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering. Aircraft crashworthiness was his area of focus during graduate studies. He has assisted FAA-CAMI (Civil Aerospace Medical Institute) and NIAR (National Institute for Aviation Research) in the development of a computational model using MADYMO and LS-DYNA for aircraft seats, seat cushions and bulkheads. He has software skills in multi-body simulation, occupant safety analysis and finite element analysis.

Testing and computer modeling can determine the injury potential in any collision.

Testing and computer modeling can demonstrate the effects of design changes for seat cushions, seatbelts and other devices.

This includes rollovers, roof intrusion, interaction with interior surfaces, occupant ejection, and any other dynamic event. Currently Dr. Thorbole is collaborating with ACHRI scholars on a funded research for identifying ATV accidents and injury mechanisms using computational mechanics.

Listed below are a few of the many refereed publications Dr. Thorbole has authored. Please contact us if you would like a copy of any of these publications.

• Computational Analysis of A Near And Far Side Occupant Kinematics In A Vehicle Rollover With Different Restraints, Stuttgart,Germany.

• Performance Evaluation of Computational HIC Component Tester for Aerospace Application, Wichita, KS.

• Occupant Protection via Frontal Crash Testing Analysis, Boston, Massachusetts.

• Performance Evaluation of Dynamic Spit Tester Using Computational Biomechanics, Honolulu, Hawaii.

• Biomechanical Modeling of Occupant Induced Centrifugal Loading on Automotive Glazing, Montreal, Quebec.

• Biomechanical Modeling of the Bicyclist and Vehicle Impact to Identify the Optimum Front End Vehicle Geometry, Quebec City, Quebec.

He spent more than a year performing lab research at NIAR evaluating the crashworthy performance of advance materials. This research was aimed towards attenuation of loads on the aircraft occupants during crash-landing situations. His areas of research and interest include experimental and computational structural crashworthiness, occupant safety, occupant kinematics, automotive restraint systems and injury biomechanics.