A numerical simulation method of natural fragment formation and injury to human thorax.

Objective: Fragment injury is a type of blast injury that is becoming more and more common in military campaigns and terrorist attacks. Numerical simulation methods investigating the formation of natural fragments and injuries to biological targets are expected to be developed.

Methods: A cylindrical warhead model was established and the formation process of natural fragments was simulated using the approach of tied nodes with failure through the explicit finite element (FE) software of LS-DYNA.