Assessment of bullet effectiveness based on a human vulnerability model

Area of Science:

• Ballistics
• Biomechanical Engineering
• Trauma Research

Background:

• Combat injuries frequently involve penetrating wounds from bullets and fragments.
• Assessing bullet effectiveness in human tissues is crucial for optimizing trauma management and preventive strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a digital human vulnerability model for evaluating bullet penetration effectiveness.
• To compare the effectiveness of different rifle bullets based on simulated tissue penetration.

Main Methods:

• An advanced voxel model based on the Chinese Visible Human data was utilized.
• A digital human vulnerability model incorporated wound reconstruction and vulnerability assessment rules.
• Projectile penetration into ballistic gelatin was simulated to obtain wound profiles, and the Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) was used for effectiveness evaluation via Monte Carlo sampling.

Main Results:

• Bullet effectiveness increased with velocity in the 300-700 m/s range.
• The 5.56 mm bullet demonstrated higher effectiveness than the 7.62 mm bullet at equivalent energy levels within the model.

Conclusions:

• Simulated penetration profiles from ballistic gelatin can predict wound tracts in damaged tissues.
• The study provides a method for comparing bullet effectiveness, though clinical validation is needed for injury prediction.