Does Blast Exposure to the Torso Cause a Blood Surge to the Brain?

The interaction of explosion-induced blast waves with the torso is suspected to contribute to brain injury. In this indirect mechanism, the wave-torso interaction is assumed to generate a blood surge, which ultimately reaches and damages the brain. However, this hypothesis has not been comprehensively and systematically investigated, and the potential role, if any, of the indirect mechanism in causing brain injury remains unclear.

Sensor orientation and other factors which increase the blast overpressure reporting errors.

This study compared the response of the wearable sensors tested against the industry-standard pressure transducers at blast overpressure (BOP) levels typically experienced in training. We systematically evaluated the effects of the sensor orientation with respect to the direction of the incident shock wave and demonstrated how the averaging methods affect the reported pressure values. The evaluated methods included averaging peak overpressure and impulse of all four sensors mounted on a helmet, taking the average of the three sensors, or isolating the incident pressure equivalent using two sensors.

Variations in Constitutive Properties of the Fluid Elicit Divergent Vibrational and Pressure Response Under Shock Wave Loading.

We performed a characterization of the shock wave loading on the response of the specimen representing a simplified head model. A polycarbonate cylinder (2-in. outer diameter, wall thickness: 0.

The evolution of secondary flow phenomena and their effect on primary shock conditions in shock tubes: Experimentation and numerical model.

Compressed gas-driven shock tubes are widely used for laboratory simulation of primary blasts by accurately replicating pressure profiles measured in live-fire explosions. These investigations require sound characterization of the primary blast wave, including the temporal and spatial evolution of the static and dynamic components of the blast wave. The goal of this work is to characterize the propagation of shock waves in and around the exit of a shock tube via analysis of the primary shock flow, including shock wave propagation and decay of the shock front, and secondary flow phenomena.