Characterization and Modeling of Thoraco-Abdominal Response to Blast Waves. Volume 4. Biomechanical Model of Thorax Response to Blast Loading

摘要

The objective of the Blast OverPressure (BOP) program is to understand the mechanisms by which biological organs are injured so that a Damage Risk Criteria (DRC) for humans can be defined in terms of blast parameters. In addition to the various experimental projects, mathematical models have been developed to understand the underlying mechanisms, correlate mechanical response and observed injury, and to provide a way to extrapolate animal experimental studies to the prediction of human exposure safety guidelines. This report documents the construction of mathematical models to study animal response to external blast. Based on sheep anatomy a simplified 16- element three-dimensional model was constructed to capture the gross body response. A refined two-dimensional model was then constructed to follow wave propagation inside the thorax and to identify locations subjected to the greatest stress.