Development and validation of a biofidelic head form model to assess blast-induced traumatic brain injury

Abstract

Traumatic Blast Injury (TBI) associated with the human head is caused by exposure to a blast loading, resulting in decreased level of consciousness, skull fracture, lesions, or death. This paper presents the simulation of blast loading of a human head form from a free-field blast with the end goal of providing insight into how TBI develops in the human head. The developed numerical model contains all the major components of the human head, the skull, and brain, including the tentorium, cerebral falx, and gray and white matter. A nonlinear finite element analysis was employed to perform the simulation using the Arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian finite element method. The simulation captures the propagation of the blast wave through the air, its interaction with the skull, and its transition into the brain matter. The model quantifies the pressure histories of the blast wave from the explosive source to the overpressure on the skull and the intracranial pressure. This paper discusses the technical approach used to model the head, the outcome from the analysis, and the implication of the results on brain injury.