Lower Leg Injury Mechanism Investigation During an IED Blast Under a Vehicle Using an Anatomic Leg Model

Sławomir Suchoń; Michał Burkacki; Kamil Joszko; Bożena Gzik-Zroska; Wojciech Wolański; Grzegorz Sławiński; João Manuel R S Tavares; Marek Gzik

doi:10.3389/fbioe.2021.725006

Lower Leg Injury Mechanism Investigation During an IED Blast Under a Vehicle Using an Anatomic Leg Model

Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2021 Nov 17:9:725006. doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2021.725006. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Sławomir Suchoń¹, Michał Burkacki¹, Kamil Joszko¹, Bożena Gzik-Zroska², Wojciech Wolański¹, Grzegorz Sławiński³, João Manuel R S Tavares⁴, Marek Gzik¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biomechatronics, Faculty of Biomedical Engineering, Silesian University of Technology, Zabrze, Poland.
² Department of Biomaterials and Medical Devices Engineering, Faculty of Biomedical Engineering, Silesian University of Technology, Zabrze, Poland.
³ Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Institute of Mechanics and Computational Engineering, Military University of Technology, Warszawa, Poland.
⁴ Departamento de Engenharia Mecânica, Faculdade de Engenharia, Instituto de Ciência e Inovação em Engenharia Mecânica e Engenharia Industrial, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal.

Abstract

Attacks with improvised explosive device (IED) constituted the main threat to, for example, Polish soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. Improving safety during transport in an armored vehicle has become an important issue. The main purpose of the presented research is to investigate the mechanism of lower leg injuries during explosion under an armored vehicle. Using a numerical anatomic model of the lower leg, the analysis of the leg position was carried out. In all presented positions, the stress limit of 160 (MPa) was reached, which indicates bone damage. There is a difference in stress distribution in anatomic elements pointing to different injury mechanisms.

Keywords: armoured vehicle; blast injury; deck-slap fracture; explosion; injury mechanism; lower limb biomechanics; tibia fracture; trauma biomechanics.