Response of Polymers to Low Amplitude Blast Waves.

The dynamic response to low amplitude blast waves of four viscoelastic materials has been investigated: P1000, P650, P250/1000 blend, and Dragonshield-BC™. This pressure range is of interest for the protection against blast-induced traumatic brain injury (TBI). A 40-mm-bore gas gun was used as a shock tube to generate planar air blast waves, ranging from 0.5 to 2 bar, that impacted instrumented target assemblies mounted on the gas gun muzzle. Each target assembly consisted of the viscoelastic polymer sample sandwiched between two 6061-T6 Al gauge assemblies containing polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) stress gauges. Impedance matching techniques were used to determine the polymer input and output stresses and attenuation. The shock velocity-particle velocity, stress-particle velocity, and stress-strain relationships for each polymer were determined. The experimental technique and analysis methodology are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]