The High-Strain Rate Loading of Structural Biological Materials

Abstract

The human body can be subjected to violent acceleration as a result of explosion caused by military ordinance or accident. Blast waves cause injury and blunt trauma can be produced by violent impact of objects against the human body. The long-term clinical manifestations of blast injury can be significantly different in nature and extent to those suffering less aggressive insult. Similarly, the damage seen in lower limbs from those injured in explosion incidents is in general more severe than those falling from height. These phenomena increase the need for knowledge of the short- and long-term effect of transient mechanical loading to the biological structures of the human body. This paper gives an overview of some of the results of collaborative investigation into blast injury. The requirement for time-resolved data, appropriate mechanical modeling, materials characterization and biological effects is presented. The use of a range of loading platforms, universal testing machines, drop weights, Hopkinson bars, and bespoke traumatic injury simulators are given.