The Royal British Legion Centre for Blast Injury Studies has been founded to investigate the processes involved in the blast injury process. This is a multi-disciplinary centre involving bio-engineers, physicists, civil engineers, cell biologists, medical researchers and medical practitioners. It is currently seeking a high-calibre student to undertake research, leading to the award of a PhD, into the effects of loading and strain rate. A set of references is listed towards the end of this advertisement to provide more detail, these references are available upon request. The clear need exists to develop, calibrate and apply other loading techniques to this issue.
The project will use advanced diagnostic techniques, e.g. heterodyne velocimetry and image analysis methods (e.g. digital image cross-correlation) to define precisely the loading conditions produced by a loading, accurately define the distribution of that loading and adjust it to define the damage limits within the biological materials of interest. A range of facilities - AnUBIS (An Under-Belly Blast Impact Simulator), Shock Tubes, Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar, have been specifically designed to address biological aspects of blast injury. In addition, recent funding in the Dept. of Physics at Imperial College London, is allowing the construction of a laser-shock facility which can be used to address extremely short (ps) high-pressure pulses. This facility, along with others developed within CBIS and the ISP will be unique in the UK.