N101-001 TITLE: Mitigation of Blast Injuries through Modeling and Simulation

TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Ground/Sea Vehicles, Battlespace, Human Systems

ACQUISITION PROGRAM: PEO-LS ACAT II

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this topic is to investigate the effect of non-centerline IED/mine blast on crew survivability and to develop a physics-based model that will assist in the design of safety components devised to mitigate injuries sustained by individuals riding in tactical wheeled vehicles.

DESCRIPTION: Military personnel riding in tactical wheeled vehicles, such as the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) family of vehicles and the Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacement (MTVR) vehicle, continue to suffer from both death and serious bodily injury as a result of IED/mine explosions. In almost all cases, the event is from an encounter with a non-centerline IED/mine, generating a significantly complex blast load on the vehicle, seats, restraints, and ultimately the crew. Design and development of safety components to mitigate these crew injuries requires a physics-based model able to account for both soil/structure interaction and gross vehicle response. Using the model developed, vehicle response and resulting load profiles on crew members will be generated and used to identify/select designs that enhance crew safety and mitigate injuries. Existing engineering based personnel survivability models will then be used to verify the effectiveness of these newly designed safety components. This modeling and simulation activity will provide a capability that does not exist, providing an evaluation and validation tool to design safety components that save lives.

PHASE I: The contractor will research the numbers, types, and severity of injuries sustained by military personnel embarked in MRAP, MTVR, and other vehicles. The contractor will develop the characteristics of these vehicles as well as the damage sustained from the IED/mine blast at the specified encounter geometry. The contractor will also select the basic modeling approach and algorithms from which the model will be developed. The preliminary model will be used to perform simulations against a particular threat type, size, and location and predictions analyzed using existing live fire test data such as floor, seat, wall, and roof accelerations.

PHASE II: The contractor will continue to refine the efforts initiated in Phase I. The contractor will develop and demonstrate the models� ability to couple the vehicle-crew response to specific body regions of crew members, such as legs and head. Super Hybrid III Anthropomorphic Test Devices (ATDs) data will be used to verify model predictions. The contractor will also establish a model requirements standards document that will provide sufficient guidance to engineers as to the geometry and material property data required to run the code. The contractor will add the capability to the model initial mitigation design approaches such as padding, seating designs, and restraint systems.

PHASE III: The contractor will cooperate with MRAP, MTVR, and other tactical vehicle manufacturers, including commercial industry vendors, to obtain test data from vehicles utilizing new safety features or components. This data will be used to verify the models predicted reduction in crew injury and focus designers on the best areas for improvement. The contractor will continue to use the model to recommend additional potential design changes that enhance crew safety and reduce injuries.

PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL/DUAL-USE APPLICATIONS: Reduction of injuries resulting from vehicle crash and rollover.

REFERENCES:
1. M. J. Chinni (Ed.), Proceedings of the 1997 Simulation MultiConference: Military, Government, and Aerospace Simulation (April 6-10, 1997). Simulation Series 29(4), 217-222. San Diego, CA: The Society for Computer Simulation International.

2. Upton, G. F. & Holmes, B. (1999). Challenges and solutions in developing a dynamic terrain enabled PC-based software image generator. In, Proceedings of the Interservice/Industry Training Systems and Education Conference, pp. 749-757.

KEYWORDS: MRAP; blast protection; vehicle rollover; leg injury; vehicle restraint devices; modeling and simulation

** TOPIC AUTHOR (TPOC) **

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