Date of Award

Spring 5-2018

Degree Type

Honors College Thesis

Department

Kinesiology

First Advisor

Scott Piland

Advisor Department

Human Performance and Recreation; Kinesiology

Abstract

Approximately 1.8 to 3.6 million concussions occur annually across all sports.3 Although concussion is prevalent and is a growing concern, the mechanism behind this brain injury is still vaguely understood. The purpose of this research was to determine if chinstrap attachment location effects standard measures of helmet performance associated with concussion. To test this, three Schutt F7 American Football Helmets were impacted at the front, side, and rear locations under two conditions (high and low chinstrap attachment). Each helmet was fitted to an anthropometric test device outfitted with a 3-2-2-2 accelerometer and impacted by a steel impactor head affixed to a pneumatic ram linear impactor at a velocity of 6m/s (equivalent to a standard football impact). The dependent variables were mean linear acceleration, rotational acceleration, and peak G. Results showed there was no statistically significant difference in the linear or rotational accelerations for the high and low chinstrap attachments. However, hi-speed video analysis resulted in observable differences being witnessed between strap tension and helmet shell deformation across the various conditions and impact locations. The main conclusion drawn from these results was that chinstrap attachment location, though resulted in observed variations, these variations during the impact event did not illicit measurable differences in standard blunt impact metrics. Thus, The Schutt F7 helmet maintains impact performance regardless of chin strap location.

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