Strength and Toughness of Steel Fibre Reinforced Reactive Powder Concrete Under Blast Loading

The blast resistance of structures used in buildings needs to be investigated due to the increased threat of a terrorist attack. The damage done by Composition B or Powergel to steel fibre reinforced reactive powder concrete （SFRPC） panels and ordinary reinforced concrete （RC） panels of equivalent static flexural strength is compared. A 0. 5 kg charge was detonated at a distance of 0. 1 m from the 1. 3 m × 1. 0 m × 0. 1 m （thick） panels, which were simply supported and spaning 1.3 m. Dynamic displacement measurements, high-speed video recording and visual examination of the panels for spall and breach were undertaken. The SFRPC panels withstood the bare charge blast better than the reinforced ordinary concrete panels. Neither type of panel was breached using a O. 5 kg charge, The RC panel exhibited more spalling when Composition B was used. Under successive Composition B loading conditions, the RC panel was breached. In comparison the SFRPC panel was not breached. Exposure to fragmenting charge loading conditions confirmed these performance differences between the SFRPC panel and the reinforced ordinary concrete panel.

An open air research study of blast-induced traumatic brain injury to goats

Purpose： we once reported blast-induced traumatic brain injury （bTBI） in confined space. Here, bTBI was studied again on goats in the open air using 3.0 kg trinitrotoluene. Methods： The goats were placed at 2, 4, 6 and 8 m far from explosion center. Trinitrotoluene （TNT） was used as the source of the blast wave and the pressure at each distance was recorded. The systemic physiology, electroencephalogram, serum level of S-100beta, and neuron specific enolase （NSE） were determined pre and post the exposure. Neuroanatomy and neuropathology were observed 4 h after the exposure. Results： Simple blast waveforms were recorded with parameters of 702.8 kPa-0.442 ms, 148.4 kPa- 2.503 ms, 73.9 kPa-3.233 ms, and 41.9 kPa-5.898 ms at 2, 4, 6 and 8 m respectively. Encephalic blast overpressure was on the first time recorded in the literature by us at 104.2 kPa-0.60 ms at 2 m, where mortality and burn rate were 44% and 44%. Gross examination showed that bTBI was mainly manifested as congestive expansion of blood vessels and subarachnoid hemorrhage, which had a total incidence of 25% and 19% in 36 goats. Microscopical observation found that the main pathohistological changes were enlarged perivascular space （21/36, 58%）, small hemorrhages （9/36, 25%）, vascular dilatation and congestion （8/36, 22%）, and less subarachnoid hemorrhage （2[36, 6%）. After explosion, serum levels of S- 10013 and NSE were elevated, and EEG changed into slow frequency with declined amplitude. The results indicated that severity and incidence of bTBI is related to the intensity of blast overpressure. Conclusion： Blast wave can pass through the skull to directly injure brain tissue.

Shock tubes and blast injury modeling

Explosive blast injury has become the most prevalent injury in recent military conflicts and terrorist attacks. The magnitude of this kind of polytrauma is complex due to the basic physics of blast and the surrounding environments. Therefore, development of stable, reproducible and controllable animal model using an ideal blast simulation device is the key of blast injury research. The present review addresses the modeling of blast injury and applications of shock tubes.