Table A-4. Probability of Glass Fragments Penetrating the Abdominal Cavity
| MASS OF GLASS FRAGMENTS (gm) | 1% | 50% | 99% |
|---|---|---|---|
| IMPACT VELOCITY (METERS PER SECOND) | |||
| 0.1 | 78 | 136 | 243 |
| 0.6 | 53 | 91 | 161 |
| 1.0 | 46 | 82 | 143 |
| 10.0 | 38 | 60 | 118 |
(4) Heavy, blunt missiles may not penetrate, but can result in significant injury, particularly fractures. The threshold velocity for skull fractures from a 4.5 milligram (mg) missile is about 4.6 meters per second (m/sec).
(5) The drag forces of the blast winds are strong enough to displace large objects (such as vehicles), or cause large structures to collapse (such as buildings) resulting in serious crushing injuries. Man himself can become a missile resulting in injuries (called translational injuries). The velocity at which the body is displaced will determine the probability and the severity of injury. Assuming a displacement of 3.0 meters, the impact velocity associated with various degrees of injury is shown in [Table A-5]. The velocities in [Table A-5] can be correlated against yield. The ranges at which such velocities can occur and the probability of injury are given in [Table A-6].
Table A-5. Translational Injuries
| A. | BLUNT INJURIES AND FRACTURES | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PROBABILITY OF INJURY | VELOCITY (m/sec) | |||
| 1% | 2.6 | |||
| 50% | 6.6 | |||
| 99% | 16.5 | |||
| B. | FATAL INJURIES | |||
| PROBABILITY OF FATALITY | VELOCITY (m/sec) | |||
| 1% | 6.6 | |||
| 50% | 17.0 | |||
| 99% | 39.7 | |||
Table A-6. Ranges for Selected Impact Velocities of a 70-Kilogram Human Body Displaced by Blast Wind Drag Forces for Different Yield Weapons
| WEAPON YIELD (KT) | VELOCITIES (m/sec) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.6 | 6.6 | 17.0 | |
| RANGES (km) | |||
| 1 | 0.38 | 0.27 | 0.19 |
| 10 | 1.0 | 0.75 | 0.53 |
| 20 | 1.3 | 0.99 | 0.71 |
| 50 | 1.9 | 1.4 | 1.0 |
| 100 | 2.5 | 1.9 | 1.4 |
| 200 | 3.2 | 2.5 | 1.9 |
| 500 | 4.6 | 3.6 | 2.7 |
| 1,000 | 5.9 | 4.8 | 3.6 |