The effect of shock waves on brain blood pressure; experimental and computational studies

Abstract

In this paper, the induced pressure in blood vessels of the brain due to a blast has been investigated. An idealised experiment was designed, consisting of a ballistic rectangular gel block with a built-in conduit filled with water, representing the brain with a blood vessel, was placed in front of a shock tube. The experimental setup was simulated by a local 3D FE model which was validated with the experimental data. Results demonstrated that the skull, brain and meningeal layers reduce the intensity of a primary blast wave by a factor of 86 until it reaches the brain vessels. Furthermore, it was concluded that the striking shock waves with BOP greater than 5 MPa would increase the blood pressure to the critical level of 57 kPa which could onset failure and cause hematoma.