Study on craniocerebral dynamic response and helmet protection performance under accompanying shock wave

To systematically investigate the protective effects of helmets against human head injuries under various shock wave conditions, a finite element head-helmet coupling model was developed. This model analyzed how helmets influence biomechanical response parameters, such as intracranial and cranial pressure, when subjected to a single blast wave and its accompanying shock wave. While extensive research exists on single blast scenarios, studies on the more complex and militarily relevant accompanying shock waves, which pose a greater threat due to prolonged loading and multiple reflections, remain scarce. Several impact scenarios were considered, including single frontal impact, positive continuous impacts, successive sidewall impacts, and simultaneous frontal and lateral impacts. The study examined the dynamic changes in brain tissue within a blast environment to assess the efficacy of helmets in protecting the human head. In single frontal impact scenarios, helmets effectively reduced intracranial pressures in the frontal, occipital, and parietal lobes by 32 %, 38 %, and 19 %, respectively, while significantly decreasing the stress peak at the back of the skull. During positive continuous impacts, helmets decreased intracranial pressure in the parietal and occipital lobes by 36 % and 21 %, respectively, although their effectiveness in reducing frontal lobe pressure was limited due to inadequate facial protection. For successive sidewall impacts, helmet protection delayed the blast wave, reducing intracranial pressure in the frontal lobe by 60 kPa but increasing pressure in the parietal lobe by 80 kPa. This alleviated stress on the skull’s rear while increasing stress on the opposite side. In scenarios involving simultaneous frontal and lateral impacts, lateral blasts increased parietal intracranial pressure by 20 kPa, with the right hemisphere experiencing more pressure than the left due to the mitigating effect of reflective side blasts on skull stress. The study found that, compared to single blast waves, accompanying shock waves present a greater risk of cranial injuries due to their prolonged impact. These findings address a critical gap in blast neurotrauma research and provide valuable insights into the biomechanics of head injuries under realistic multi-blast conditions, which can directly inform the design of improved helmets with enhanced protection in complex blast environments. However, because shock waves may originate from multiple directions and elevations, the protective capability of conventional helmets for the facial region remains limited.