Helmet Impact Analysis

MET S.p.A. is a leading sports helmet manufacturer based in Talamona, Italy. Engineers at MET have used ADINA successfully to analyze their new helmet design. Depicted in the above animation are the stress contours of the helmet in their simulation of a head with a helmet impacting an anvil at a velocity of 4.57 meters/second. The objective is to ensure that the helmet provides adequate protection for the head; in particular, the deceleration on the head must not exceed 250g.

Figure 1 at right shows the setup for the simulation and the laboratory test. In the past, engineers at MET had to rely on results obtained from actual impact tests carried out on prototype models in the laboratory to evaluate the performance of a new helmet design. Now with the use of ADINA, the engineers are able to gain better insight into how the helmet functions, e.g., the clearance distance between the head and the anvil can be obtained easily from the simulation results. Comparison of the simulation and laboratory test results (in Figure 2 below) shows very good agreement.