The Modeling of Shock-Wave Pressures, Energies, and Temperatures Within the Human Brain Due to Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) Using the Transport and Burgers' Equations

Abstract

This second paper adopts a more rigorous, in-depth approach to modeling the resulting dynamic-pressures in the human brain, following a transitory improvised explosive device (IED) shock-wave entering the head. Determining more complicated boundary conditions, a set of particular-solutions for both Burgers' and the Transport equations has been obtained to describe the highly damped neurological pressures, complete with respective graphical plots. Many of these two-dimensional solution-curves closely resemble the Friedlander curve [1–4], not only illustrating enormous over-pressures that result almost immediately after the initial impact, but under-pressures experimentally depicted in all cases, due to oscillatory motion. It appears, given experimental evidence, that most—if not all—of these models can be aptly described by damped sinusoidal functions, these facts being further corroborated by existing literature, referencing models expounded by Friedlander's seminal work [1–4]. Using other advanced mathematical techniques, such as the Hopf-Cole Transformation, application of the Dirac-delta function and the Heat-Diffusion equation, expressions have been determined to model and predict the associated energies and temperatures within this paper.