Numerical modeling of primary thoracic trauma because of blast

Materials and Methods: Numerical simulation of thorax blast loading consisted of the following components: 3D thorax modeling reconstruction, meshing and assembly of various thorax parts, blast and boundary loading, numerical solution, result extraction and data analysis.

Results: By comparing the models to published experimental data, local extent of injury in    the lung was correlated to the peak pressure measured in each finite element, categorized as     no injury (< 60 kPa), trace (60-100 kPa), slight (100-140 kPa), moderate (140-240 kPa) and severe (> 240 kPa). It seemed that orienting the body at an angle of 45 degrees provides the lowest injury.

Conclusion: The level and type of trauma inflicted on a human organ by a blast overpressure      is related to many factors including: blast characteristics, body orientation, equipment worn and the number of exposures to blast    loading.