  It is a common point that "soft" condensed matter (like granular materials or
foams) can reduce damage caused by impact or explosion. It is attributed to
their ability to absorb significant energy. This is certainly the case for a
quasistatic type of deformation at low velocity of impact where such materials
are widely used for packing of fragile devices. At the same time a mitigation
of blast phenomena must take into account shock wave properties of "soft"
matter which very often exhibit highly nonlinear, highly heterogeneous and
dissipative behavior. This paper considers applications of "soft" condensed
matter for blast mitigation using simplified approach, presents analysis of
some anomalous effects and suggestions for future research in this exciting
area.

Soft Condensed Matter;Materials Science