A Framework for Multiscale Modeling of Warfighter Blast Injury Protection (original) (raw)

Improvised explosive devices (IED) have become the predominant weapon used in recent military conflicts against the coalition forces and in terror acts against civilian populations. IED technology and deployment methods have increased in complexity, and so have the resultant injuries, which require an increase in the sophistication of protection countermeasures and efficacy of medical interventions. Computational injury biomechanics, complemented with model-guided experimental testing can provide valuable support, not only in better understanding of blast injury mechanics, but also in the development of personnel protective armor, injury diagnostics, combat casualty care, and rehabilitation. Contemporary models of injury biomechanics typically focus on a specific loading mechanism and injury type to a single organ (e.g., bone, brain, or lung). IED injuries, however, typically result in polytrauma caused not only by the primary blast wave but also by associated penetrating injures ca...