Biomechanical analysis head–neck injuries against mine falls using a simplified human model

Fall-related mine fatalities remain one of the most critical threats to the miner’s safety. Recent statistics suggest significant severe injuries from ground falls during mining operations, with head and neck being typically injured organs. The effectiveness of the existing miner’s helmet in protection against ground falls is not known. In this work, we investigate the biomechanical response of the head and neck against the roof falls with and without the helmet. Towards this end, a simplified human finite element model is built. The model response is compared against the relevant experimental data, and the agreement between experiment and model predictions is reasonable. The model is subjected to roof fall with roof velocities of 1, 3, and 6 m/s, and the biomechanical response of the brain and neck is studied. Various helmet configurations consisting of hard and soft layers have been investigated. Our results suggest that existing helmets reduce the strains and stresses in the brain by upto ~59%. On the contrary, the neck forces and moments have increased with helmets by upto ~86%. This is due to the increase in mass of the system due to the addition of the helmet. We also observe that even though stresses in the brain have been reduced with the helmet, the reduction offered by the helmet may not be sufficient to prevent mild TBI. Overall, our results suggest that the role of the miner’s helmet in mitigating ground fall-related head and neck injuries should be critically analyzed.