title: Physics of IED Blast Shock Tube Simulations for mTBI Research.
abstract: Shock tube experiments and simulations are conducted with a spherical gelatin filled skull-brain surrogate, in order to study the mechanisms leading to blast induced mild traumatic brain injury. A shock tube including sensor system is optimized to simulate realistic improvised explosive device blast profiles obtained from full scale field tests. The response of the skull-brain surrogate is monitored using pressure and strain measurements. Fluid-structure interaction is modeled using a combination of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations for the air blast, and a finite element model for the structural response. The results help to understand the physics of wave propagation, from air blast into the skull-brain. The presence of openings on the skull and its orientation does have a strong effect on the internal pressure. A parameter study reveals that when there is an opening in the skull, the skull gives little protection and the internal pressure is fairly independent on the skull stiffness; the gelatin shear stiffness has little effect on the internal pressure. Simulations show that the presence of pressure sensors in the gelatin hardly disturbs the pressure field.
authors.affiliation: Physical Protection and Survivability, Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research Rijswijk, Netherlands.
authors.forename: Jesus
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mediavilla Varas
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Philippens
authors.forename: S R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Meijer
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: van den Berg
authors.forename: P C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Sibma
authors.forename: J L M J
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: van Bree
authors.forename: D V W M
authors.initials: DV
authors.lastname: de Vries