Progress in explosive shock wave-caused injuries in complicated work environment

The proportion of casualties caused by blast injuries is increasing year by year, with those induced by shock waves being the main life-threatening factor. Because of the different propagation laws of the explosive shock waves in various environments, the waves will result in different damages on the person in the space. So, clarifying the impacts of different work conditions on the blast injuries will provide important supports for the assessment of the explosive power of weapons and ammunition and for the guidance for personal protective equipment selection in the process of actual combat. In this article, we discuss the rules in the shock wave-induced injuries in the free field, underwater, confined and semi-confined spaces, identify the shortcomings in the current research on blast injuries in different environments, summarize the current states of the research and application, and finally, bring forward to the key technologies and development directions that need to be solved in the subsequent research in order to provide a reference basis for future research on the injuries caused by explosive shock waves.