Comparison of Constant Acceleration and Dynamic Response Index Lethality Criteria

There may be more accurate human lethality criterion than a fixed acceleration threshold (i.e., 23 g). The human body is a dynamic system with rate-dependent material properties and natural frequencies. Since injuries are caused by the internal stresses and strains produced by external forces, a more accurate prediction of injury should account for the body’s dynamic response. This paper examines how the results of the fixed-acceleration threshold analysis relate to more complex criteria. In other words, if a system exhibits high efficiency for the 23 g criterion, how does is perform with respect to the DRI as an exemplar of dynamically sensitive criteria?