Head Kinematics Study of E-bicycle Rider in Car to E-bicycle Side Collisions

In recent years, car to bicycle collisions take place more and more frequently, which have attracted the attention of some organizations and engineers. They are trying to make some rules for cars to realize better bicyclist protection, including defining new head impact location area and head impact velocity in pedestrian protection tests. However, car to E-bicycle collisions occur more than car to bicycle collisions in China. Therefore, vehicle to E-bicycle collisions should be researched to define appropriate head impact location area and head impact velocity in pedestrian protection tests for cars in Chinese market. In this article, the head kinematics of E-bicycle riders in car to E-bicycle side collisions are studied. First, through analyzing data from China In-Depth Accident Study Database (which conducts field investigation, analysis, and research on traffic accidents in China), some representative conditions and key parameters in car to E-bicycle collisions are extracted. Second, a condition of car to E-bicycle side collision from above analysis is simulated. Third, an experiment according to the above condition is performed and the finite element models in the above simulation are validated. Then, a series of conditions are simulated by using the validated models, and some factors affecting head impact locations and head impact velocities in car to E-bicycle side collisions are studied. Finally, some factors that affect the head kinematics of E-bicycle riders in car to E-bicycle collisions are identified and some results of head movement in these collisions are concluded, such as head impact locations and head impact velocities.