Skull flexure from blast waves: a mechanism for brain injury with implications for helmet design

Conference · Tue Apr 14 04:00:00 EDT 2009

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.103.108702· OSTI ID:953721

Moss, W C; King, M J; Blackman, E G

Traumatic brain injury [TBI] has become a signature injury of current military conflicts. The debilitating effects of TBI are long-lasting and costly. Although the mechanisms by which impacts cause TBI have been well researched, the mechanisms by which blasts cause TBI are not understood. Various possibilities have been investigated, but blast-induced deformation of the skull has been neglected. From numerical hydrodynamic simulations, we have discovered that nonlethal blasts can induce sufficient flexure of the skull to generate potentially damaging loads in the brain, even if no impact occurs. The possibility that this mechanism may contribute to TBI has implications for the diagnosis of soldiers and the design of protective equipment such as helmets.

• Research Organization: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-48
• OSTI ID: 953721
• Report Number(s): LLNL-CONF-412218
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

42 ENGINEERING
45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEFENSE
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
BLAST EFFECTS
BRAIN
DEFORMATION
DESIGN
DIAGNOSIS
EQUIPMENT
EXPLOSIONS
HEAD
HYDRODYNAMICS
INJURIES
MEETINGS
MILITARY EQUIPMENT
PROTECTIVE CLOTHING
SKULL