Characterization of Porcine Lung Parenchyma for Blunt Impact Loads

Thoracic, specifically, lung injuries are common in blunt impact in an automotive crash. The current research focused on assessing the effect of blunt impact on lung parenchymal tissue. Tokens of an average size of 20 × 20 × 10 mm3 were prepared from the porcine lung parenchyma. It was ensured that all tokens were without bronchi to maintain uniformity and homogeneity. Unidirectional compression tests were carried out in both quasi-static and dynamic conditions. Quasi-static studies were carried out at a velocity of 1 mm/s, while the dynamic studies were conducted at velocities of 1.6, 3.0, and 5.0 m/s. Engineering stress versus strain curves was obtained for each impact velocity. A bilinear fit was generated for each stress–strain curve, and the toe and elastic modulus were evaluated. It was observed that an increase in the strain rate increases the elastic moduli of the lung tissue.