Abstract
Over the past several years, we have noticed an increase in the number of blast injury studies published in peer-reviewed biomedical journals that have utilized improperly conceived experiments. Data from these studies will lead to false conclusions and more confusion than advancement in the understanding of blast injury, particularly blast neurotrauma. Computational methods to properly characterize the blast environment have been available for decades. These methods, combined with a basic understanding of blast wave phenomena, enable researchers to extract useful information from well-documented experiments. This basic understanding must include the differences and interrelationships of static pressure, dynamic pressure, reflected pressure, and total or stagnation pressure in transient shockwave flows, how they relate to loading of objects, and how they are properly measured. However, it is critical that the research community effectively overcomes the confusion that has been compounded by a misunderstanding of the differences between the loading produced by a free field explosive blast and loading produced by a conventional shock tube. The principles of blast scaling have been well established for decades and when properly applied will do much to repair these problems. This paper provides guidance regarding proper experimental methods and offers insights into the implications of improperly designed and executed tests. Through application of computational methods, useful data can be extracted from well-documented historical tests, and future work can be conducted in a way to maximize the effectiveness and use of valuable biological test data.
Highlights
The principles of blast scaling have been well established for decades and when properly applied will do much to repair these problems.This paper provides guidance regarding proper experimental methods and offers insights into the implications of improperly designed and executed tests
As explained from the earliest studies of blast physics [1,2,3], there is a partitioning of energy in a propagating explosive blast wave between static pressure, which inflicts crushing action, and dynamic pressure, which imparts drag and possibly lift forces and is largely responsible for displacement of objects
BLOCKAGE When experiments are conducted in a shock tube, that is, when the subject is placed within the test section of the shock tube, consideration must be given to the blockage caused by the specimen and its mounting as defined by the ratio of the total “presented area” of the obstruction relative to the cross-section of the tube
Summary
As explained from the earliest studies of blast physics [1,2,3], there is a partitioning of energy in a propagating explosive blast wave between static pressure, which inflicts crushing action, and dynamic pressure, which imparts drag and possibly lift forces and is largely responsible for displacement of objects. This energy partition changes with distance: very near the fireball static and dynamics pressures are about equal, but the relative component of dynamic pressure decreases with distance such that as the wave decays to acoustic levels, the induced particle velocity, and dynamic pressure becomes negligible.
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