A Finite Element Model of an Electric Scooter for Simulating Traffic Accidents

Abstract

Abstract In the past several years, injuries caused by electric scooter accidents have significantly increased in areas serviced by scooter ride-share companies. The majority of injuries observed are mild to moderate in severity. In this study, a FE model of an electric scooter accident was created to observe the effect that impact speed and the type of ground have on the risk of severe injury to the rider. A FE standing Hybrid III dummy was calibrated against the certification test data using optimization techniques. To model a scooter-bump accident, the calibrated HIII FE model was placed on the scooter to mimic how a rider would stand on an electric scooter. Three scooter-bump impact simulations were run where the impact speeds were either 4.48 m/s or 3.2 m/s. The ground was similarly switched between soil and concrete. The simulation where the dummy fell on a concrete surface resulted in the highest risk of severe injury to the rider. Furthermore, the results concurred with previous literature that the head/neck region presented one of the biggest risks of severe injury. It is believed that the models developed in this study could be used in future to improve the e-scooter riders’ safety by development of new safety.