Chest wall velocity as a predictor of nonauditory blast injury in a complex wave environment

Previous blast injury prediction criteria have been based on exposure to classic Friedlander or ideal blast waves. An ideal waveform is characterized by an instantaneous rise to a peak overpressure that decays exponentially to ambient pressure followed by a negative phase. The prediction criteria did not address injuries resulting from exposure to complex blast waves. It was difficult to establish a simple relationship between the two because complex blast waves typically consist of multiple shocks with variable frequency content and intensity that may be superimposed on a slow rising quasistatic pressure pulse. This paper deals with the application of a single degree of freedom mathematical model, originally developed to measure the response of the thorax to Friedlander waves, to calculate chest wall velocities resulting from various complex blast loads. Experimental results with sheep, exposed to complex blast waves in enclosures, demonstrated that there was a good relationship between the Adjusted Severity of Injury Index (which includes injury to the lungs, upper respiratory tract, gastrointestinal tract and solid intraabdominal organs) and the calculated peak inward chest wall velocity. In addition, there was a good correlation between these results and previously established Friedlander injury prediction curves. The velocity of complex blast waves was nearly the same as that of Friedlander waves for a given degree of injury: 3-4.5 meters/second for threshold injury, 8-12 meters/second for an LD1, and 12-17 meters/second for an LD50.