Dynamic Response of Brain under Impact of Shock Waves in Plateau Environments

DU Qinglei; LU Haitao; AN Shuo; QI Bin

doi:10.7643/issn.1672-9242.2025.07.004

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Equipment Environmental Engineering ›› 2025, Vol. 22 ›› Issue (7) : 24-35. DOI: 10.7643/issn.1672-9242.2025.07.004

Special Topic—Application and Collaborative Evaluation Technology of Light Weapons in Complex Environments

Dynamic Response of Brain under Impact of Shock Waves in Plateau Environments

DU Qinglei¹, LU Haitao², AN Shuo¹, QI Bin¹

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Abstract

The work aims to study the dynamic response of the pressure of the cranial explosion shock wave and the influence of altitude in the plateau environment. Based on the S-ALE method, a fluid-structure interaction model of air/explosives and head at high altitude was constructed, and its effectiveness was verified by comparing with experimental results and empirical formulas, and the influence of explosive equivalent and altitude on the propagation characteristics of shock wave, the coupling mechanism between shock wave and head and the pressure distribution of brain tissue was deeply analyzed. The prefrontal region was characterized by the gradient distribution of shock wave overpressure due to the enhanced reflex and skull attenuation effect, which was manifested as the highest reflex overpressure, followed by the frontal lobe overpressure, and the lowest incident overpressure, among which the frontal lobe area was the high-risk area of brain injury. The increase of equivalent was positively correlated with the shock wave parameters, and the attenuation rate of the skull to the pressure wave reached 52%-58%, and the explosion of 100 g of TNT at a detonation distance of 1 m could cause moderate damage in the frontal lobe region. The increase in altitude (0 m to 4 000 m) shortened the arrival time of the shock wave at a detonation distance of 1 m by 7.9%, the peak overpressure by 17.5%, and the positive pressure action time by 7.1%. In addition, the peak frontal lobe pressure decreased with altitude (50 gTNT, 0 m: 105.5 kPa→ 4 000 m: 92.8 kPa). In conclusion, the frontal lobe area of frontal impact is a sensitive area caused by explosion, and the increase of equivalent directly strengthens the damage effect of shock wave. With the increase of altitude, the peak overpressure of the shock wave decreases, and the duration of positive pressure is prolonged, resulting in a decrease in the peak pressure of the frontal lobe, but it should be noted that the decrease in oxygen saturation and the thinning of the blood-brain barrier caused by the hypoxic environment at the plateau may exacerbate the brain tissue injury effect.

Key words

plateau environment / altitude effects / cranial injury / explosive shock wave / finite element model of head / blast-included traumatic brain injury

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DU Qinglei, LU Haitao, AN Shuo, QI Bin. Dynamic Response of Brain under Impact of Shock Waves in Plateau Environments[J]. Equipment Environmental Engineering. 2025, 22(7): 24-35 https://doi.org/10.7643/issn.1672-9242.2025.07.004

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