Masters Theses

Abstract

Measuring and recording blast exposure to military personnel from shoulder-fired weaponry or improvised explosive devices to correlate health outcomes like mild traumatic brain injury has been a goal for many years. As such, many wearable sensors have been developed and tested for accuracy and reliability. Despite this, knowing the sensor orientation in relation to the blast source is important to fully correlate the actual personnel exposure to clinical outcomes. This research investigates whether pressures recorded at three independent orientations in the x, y and z planes can be combined to a representative pressure that is independent of orientation. Important metrics such as peak overpressure and impulse were used to provide a full picture of the exposure measurements. The experimental test setup used charges comprised of 150 grams of Composition C-4 molded into a sphere. Sensors were placed in the x, y, and z planes at a distance of 2.75 meters. Using the root mean square formula, the results from peak pressure and impulse were combined and analyzed. Results from the root mean square calculations for peak pressure show a small range (10.25 psi to 12.75) when compared to the independent 3 orientation results that ranged from 15.5 psi to 5.75 psi. Using geometric analysis, the peak pressure values was decreased to a near constant value of 10.33 ± 0.33 psi. The impulse root mean square calculations revealed a consistent value throughout the test series, holding steadily around 5 psi-ms. When compared to the initial range of predicted impulse values of 8.0 and 3.8 psi-ms respectively, the consistent value of impulse was found to be effective in combining the results from three independent orientations into one single quantitative value that can be related to clinical outcomes.

Advisor(s)

Johnson, Catherine E.

Committee Member(s)

Douglas, Alexander
Dionne, Jean-Philippe

Department(s)

Mining Engineering

Degree Name

M.S. in Explosives Engineering

Publisher

Missouri University of Science and Technology

Publication Date

Summer 2025

Pagination

xi, 72 pages

Note about bibliography

Includes_bibliographical_references_(pages 63-71)

Rights

© 2025 Nicholas Kuehl , All Rights Reserved

Document Type

Thesis - Open Access

File Type

text

Language

English

Thesis Number

T 12539

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