Comparison of Hockey Helmet Lining Technologies in Mitigating Concussion Risk During Simulated Horizontal Head Collisions

Comparison of Hockey Helmet Lining Technologies in Mitigating Concussion Risk During Simulated Horizontal Head Collisions

Kyle McGillivray, Eryk Przysucha, Paolo Sanzo, Meilan Liu, Carlos Zerpa
Copyright: © 2022 |Pages: 17
DOI: 10.4018/IJEACH.316134
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Abstract

The risk of concussions in ice hockey is high despite use of vinyl-nitrile (VN) and expanded polypropylene (EPP) materials in helmet liners. Linings made of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) seem to offer better mitigation of impact accelerations. The first purpose of this study was to compare the use of TPU linings to VN and EPP liners on measures of energy absorption capabilities during static loading. The second was to examine the effectiveness of TPU liners in reducing acceleration and risk of head injury when compared to VN and EPP liners during simulated dynamic head impact collisions. The static test indicated that TPU absorbed 38.6% of the loading energy compared to 15.8% for VN and 41.8% for EPP linings. The dynamic testing revealed that the TPU liners outperformed VN and EPP liners at the side, rear boss, and rear locations. Use of multi-material helmet liner made of TPU and EPP is suggested.
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Background

Manufacturers and researchers assess the protective capability of hockey helmets using testing protocols. The National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE) testing protocol, for example, provides standards to certify the safety of hockey helmets in Canada and the United States to protect players against head injuries before shipping these helmets to the market (Halstead, 2001). The NOCSAE testing protocol entails mounting the helmet on a surrogate headform designed to simulate the response of an actual human head when impacted at six different locations using either a vertical or horizontal impactor as shown in Figure 1.

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