ABSTRACT
Objective To simulate dynamic response of cervical spine of the pilot during typical maneuver flight movements using finite element method, as well as make analysis and prediction on damage failure of the pilot neck during flight by impact injury and fatigue injury model of biological tissues.Methods A geometrically accurate finite element model of the neck was constructed, and validity of the model was verified by relevant examples. Then, the acceleration curves of centrifugal trainer under different modes were loaded for numerical simulation, and impact injury and fatigue injury of tissues were predicted by using the universal cervical injury criterion and the fatigue damage model of biological tissues.Results The maximum stress of the vertebrae and intervertebral disc caused by overload impact was 66.53 MPa and 58.63 MPa respectively during typical maneuver flight. According to the Nij injury criteria, the maximum Nij was 0.096, which was lower than the injury tolerance threshold of 1, and would not cause direct acute injury to cervical tissues. Based on fatigue damage model of biological tissues, it was found that cancellous bone suffered fatigue failure under the condition of uninterrupted repeated loading for more than 40 000 times. Considering the limited flight career of the pilot, the vertebral tissues would not be fractured due to the accumulation of fatigue damage.Conclusions To a certain extent, the results can contribute to formulating pilot training and flight plans, and also provide data support for the development of its protective equipment.