Experimental study of blast-induced traumatic brain injury using a physical head model. Stapp Car Crash J 2009 Nov;53:215-27
Date
01/12/2010Pubmed ID
20058556DOI
10.4271/2009-22-0008Scopus ID
2-s2.0-75749112949 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 25 CitationsAbstract
This study was conducted to quantify intracranial biomechanical responses and external blast overpressures using physical head model to understand the biomechanics of blast traumatic brain injury and to provide experimental data for computer simulation of blast-induced brain trauma. Ellipsoidal-shaped physical head models, made from 3-mm polycarbonate shell filled with Sylgard 527 silicon gel, were used. Six blast tests were conducted in frontal, side, and 45 degrees oblique orientations. External blast overpressures and internal pressures were quantified with ballistic pressure sensors. Blast overpressures, ranging from 129.5 kPa to 769.3 kPa, were generated using a rigid cannon and 1.3 to 3.0 grams of pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) plastic sheet explosive (explosive yield of 13.24 kJ and TNT equivalent mass of 2.87 grams for 3 grams of material). The PETN plastic sheet explosive consisted of 63% PETN powder, 29% plasticizer, and 8% nitrocellulose with a density of 1.48 g/cm3 and detonation velocity of 6.8 km/s. Propagation and reflection of the shockwave was captured using a shadowgraph technique. Shockwave speeds ranging from 423.3 m/s to 680.3 m/s were recorded. The model demonstrated a two-stage response: a pressure dominant (overpressure) stage followed by kinematic dominant (blast wind) stage. Positive pressures in the brain simulant ranged from 75.1 kPa to 1095 kPa, and negative pressures ranged from -43.6 kPa to -646.0 kPa. High- and normal-speed videos did not reveal observable deformations in the brain simulant from the neutral density markers embedded in the midsagittal plane of the head model. Amplitudes of the internal positive and negative pressures were found to linearly correlate with external overpressure. Results from the current study suggested a pressure-dominant brain injury mechanism instead of strain injury mechanism under the blast severity of the current study. These quantitative results also served as the validation and calibration data for computer simulation models of blast brain injuries.
Author List
Zhang J, Pintar FA, Yoganandan N, Gennarelli TA, Son SFAuthors
Frank A. Pintar PhD Chair, Professor in the Biomedical Engineering department at Medical College of WisconsinNarayan Yoganandan PhD Professor in the Neurosurgery department at Medical College of Wisconsin
MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AccelerationBlast Injuries
Brain
Brain Injuries
Computer Simulation
Elastic Modulus
Explosions
Head
Humans
Models, Anatomic
Rotation