Effect of Protective Devices on Brain Trauma Mechanics Under Idealized Shock Wave Loading.

摘要

As an effort to study the effect of primary blast on soldiers, the use of shock tube for blast testing has been evaluated experimentally. An instrumented head form with or without helmets was subjected to two blast loading conditions: a) that generated by live-fire free-field blasts, and b) that simulated using the shock tubes at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL). Surface pressures and center-of-gravity acceleration components were measured and compared for the loading conditions realized in this project. The results show that the live-fire blast loading condition can be simulated reasonably well with the blast loading generated inside UNL 28-inch shock tube. Using the test data, the effects of loading orientation and state of protection (with or without helmets) have been studied quantitatively. The deficiencies of simulating blast loading outside a shock tube have been identified. Finally, the acceleration components related to the large post-blast head form motion observed visually in shock tube testing have been examined. The resultant dynamic effect has been found to be non-impulsive and insignificant compared to that of the primary blast loading.