Weapons and Materials Research Directorate Research Areas

Development of computational techniques for modeling blast-induced mild traumatic brain injury

Advisor: R.H. Kraft (reuben.h.kraft.civ@mail.mil, 410 278 6142)

Key Word: mild traumatic brain injury, finite element model, primary blast, computational mechanics, fluid solid interaction, soft material physics, injury biomechanics, high strain rate, mechanics

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) has become an increasing concern in the civilian and military sectors. In the civilian sector
TBI has been revealed as a problem due to contact sports, motor vehicle accidents, and falls. According to the Brain
Trauma Foundation, approximately 52,000 deaths occur from TBI each year, an estimated 1.5 million head injuries occur
every year in the United States emergency rooms, and an estimated 1.6 million to 3.8 million sports-related TBIs occur
each year (Taber, Warden, & Hurley, 2006). According to the Defense Medical Surveillance System (DMSS) and Theater
Medical Data Store (TMDS) as prepared by Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center (AFHSC), a total of 220,430 cases of
TBI have been reported since 2000 within the Department of Defense. This number represents actual medical diagnoses of TBI that occurred anywhere US forces are located, including the continental United States (http://www.dvbic.org/TBINumbers. aspx).

We seek computational methods that help to elucidate injury mechanisms associated with mild traumatic brain injury.
There are many challenges to overcome in order to reach a validated computational model of primary, blast-induced mild
traumatic brain injury including modeling soft tissue, developing a mechanical dose-response model of brain tissue
dysfunction, establishing linkages with neurobiology and many more. Specifically, in this effort we seek research focused
on developing benchmark loading paradigms to facilitate model comparison and validations for primary blast loading.
This work should include realistic head geometry and orifices to enable the understanding of the complex fluid-solid
interaction of the blast wave and head geometry (and protection) as well as the interaction of the internal anatomical
components such as the cerebrospinal fluid. There exist some limited experimental research that would supplement this
effort.

Taber, K., Warden, D., & Hurley, R. (2006). Blast-Related Traumatic Brian Injury: What Is Known? Journal of
Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci , 18:2, 141-145.
Alley, M., Scimizze, B., & Son, S. (2011). Experimental modeling of explosive blast-related traumatic brain injuries.
NeuroImage , 54, S45-S54.