A Review on Underwater Explosion and Its Biological Damage

With the rapid development of underwater weapons, the vitality of ships is inevitably threatened by underwater explosions. Correspondingly, the probability of structural damage, breakdown of electronic devices aboard and fatality of staffs has increased considerably. In this paper, we first review the progress of underwater explosion from the aspects of the basic load mechanism and physical damage effects of underwater explosion. Then, focusing on ship shock injuries and underwater blast injuries, the researching progress of biological damage of underwater explosion loads is reviewed from three aspects: injury mechanism, injury characteristics and safety protection. Finally, from the perspective of transdisciplinary research of engineering and medicine, this paper envisions the future development in this field, which may provide some reference for researchers of ship damage protection and military special environmental medicine.