Dynamic Head-Neck Response to Bullet Impact and Effects of Passive Muscles on the Neck

doi:10.12382/bgxb.2022.0457

Abstract

Abstract: To address the threat of projectiles and fragments in a battlefield, head-neck dynamic response to bullet impact and the effects of passive neck muscles are studied. By establishing an effective helmet-head-neck finite element model, the impact of 9 mm handgun bullets is simulated to examine the human head-neck mechanical response with or without passive muscles. The results show that in the case of front impact, stress is concentrated on the frontal head bone and the lower cervical vertebrae when the neck is extended. When the front side of the intervertebral disc fails to stretch, the passive muscles on the neck relieve the extension of the head and neck, reducing the cervical spine injury. Under the effect of passive muscles, the displacement of the head's centroid is reduced by 31.38%, and the stress exerted on the junction between cervical vertebrae and intervertebral disc as well as the maximum intervertebral disc stress are relieved by 28.76%. Thus, passive muscles play an important role in protecting the body, and thus must be considered when assessing neck injuries. The results provide reference for the assessment of neck injuries and the design of neck protective equipment.

Key words: helmet-head-neckfiniteelementmodel, ballisticimpact, dynamicresponse, passiveneckmuscle

CLC Number:

TS941

FAN Xin, HUANG Xingyuan, CHANG Lijun, WANG Tianhao, ZHAO Yongfei, CAI Zhihua. Dynamic Head-Neck Response to Bullet Impact and Effects of Passive Muscles on the Neck[J]. Acta Armamentarii, 2022, 43(9): 2200-2209.

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