Material parameterization including damage for predicting diver lung underwater explosion (UNDEX) injury.

Area of Science:

• Computational mechanics
• Biomedical engineering
• Injury biomechanics

Background:

• Underwater explosions (UNDEX) pose significant risks to human health and marine life.
• Predicting lung injury from blast waves requires sophisticated modeling of complex biological tissues.
• Existing models often lack detailed anatomical representation and accurate material property parameterization.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a computational framework for predicting the mechanical response of the lung to UNDEX.
• To create a parameterization methodology for hyperelastic and hyperviscoelastic lung tissue behavior, including damage.
• To enable quantitative assessment of lung injury severity and spatial distribution.

Main Methods:

• Integration of anatomically informed finite-element geometry with constitutive models.
• Parameter identification using literature data, experimental dataset refitting, and plausible value adoption.
• Quantification of injury via mappings from clinical severities to affected lung tissue percentages.
• Incorporation of parameterized damage fields into blast simulations.

Main Results:

• A validated computational framework capable of simulating lung response to UNDEX.
• Methodology for parameterizing lung tissue properties and damage, circumventing direct biological testing.
• Quantitative injury assessment integrated into blast simulations.

Conclusions:

• The developed model provides a robust capability for predicting lung injury from underwater blast events.
• This framework can inform operational protocols, risk assessments, and forensic analyses related to UNDEX.
• The model has potential applications in evaluating environmental impacts, including marine mammal exposure to blast scenarios.