Thesis work FE Human Body Model Spinal Curvature Update
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30+ days ago
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Job Summary
Thesis Worker at Volvo Cars
Welcome to explore the world of Volvo Cars by writing your thesis with us! As a thesis worker in our organization you are supported by a supervisor who follows you during your project. Through your thesis work you will be able to contribute to our company purpose providing freedom to move in a safe sustainable and personal way from day one!
About this opportunity - Background
The spine is a complex anatomical structure that carry a lot of load and provides a large range of motion while at the same time protecting the spinal cord. The SAFER HBM is a Finite Element (FE) Human Body Model (HBM) that was developed to assess the risk of injury to occupants and pedestrians in car crashes. The SAFER HBM has tissue level injury prediction for several organs e.g. fractures in the thoracolumbar vertebral body. Currently work is ongoing to include cervical spine injury prediction capability.
In this thesis the curvature of the SAFER HBM is to be updated based on data from seated volunteers and used to study the effect of spinal curvature on occupant responses in car crash scenarios such as run-off road frontal and rear-end impacts. The project will consist of FE HBM pre-processing in software such as ANSA or external scripts (Matlab or Python) to morph and adjust the spinal curvature of the HBM. The updated model will then be simulated in both validation scenarios replicating biomechanical subsystem tests as well as in application studies in a vehicle-like environment.
Scope of the thesis work
Review recent relevant impact biomechanics literature on the effect of spinal curvature on occupant kinematics and injury outcome in car crashes.
Learn how to pre-process run and analyze crash FE simulations.
Develop a method to adjust the spinal curvature of the SAFER HBM.
Evaluate the effect of an updated spinal curvature compared with the current one in the SAFER HBM.
What youll bring
The MSc-project is suitable for two students preferably with good knowledge of the FE method biomechanics and scripting. The work will be carried out at Volvo Cars Safety Centre during spring 2026. FE simulations will be done using the LS-DYNA FE software.
Duration
The work will start in January 2026
The duration for this thesis work is 20 weeks.
30 ECTS (Master academic credits) in agreement with your Thesis Advisor in University
This thesis is to be conducted by 2 Students working in pair.
Volvo Cars. For Life.
For nearly a century Volvo Cars has empowered people to move freely in a personal sustainable and safe way. Today we are driving bold advancements in electrification sustainability and automotive safety. To realise our ambitious vision we are seeking innovative minds who are ready to tackle the challenges of tomorrow today.
In our company we believe extraordinary things are achieved by ordinary people with the drive to make a difference.
Ready to take the next step
Applications should include your CV and a brief personal letter stating your interests within the given area and your thoughts and credentials. Submit your CV in English
Applications must be received no later than 31st of October 2025. We are prioritising direct applications to ensure a fair and efficient application process.
For questions regarding the recruitment process please contact Recruiter Radoslaw Piela at
For specific questions about the position please reach out to the Technical Expert Jonas Östh at or to the Hiring ManagerLinus Wågström at
Welcome with your application!
Key Skills
- Python
- C/C++
- Fortran
- R
- Data Mining
- Matlab
- Data Modeling
- Laboratory Techniques
- MongoDB
- SAS
- Systems Analysis
- Dancing
About Company
Volvo Car USA is a subsidiary of Volvo Car Group of Gothenburg, Sweden and is headquartered in Rockleigh, NJ, with regional sales offices located in Rockleigh, Summerville, SC, and Irvine, CA. In addition, Volvo Car US Operations, the home of our new US factory, is located in South Ca ... View more
