Occupant Sensor Suite for Blast Events

Currently there is a lack of battlefield blast data that can be specifically used to correlate a warfighter injury to a blast occurrence. Therefore it is difficult at best to design and develop occupant protection systems. Although live fire testing at various test centers takes place, there is still some question regarding the accuracy of the scenario simulation and the conditions experienced by occupants within these environments. As a result, there is a need to develop a sensor package that can be utilized to monitor conditions experienced by the occupants within a ground vehicle undergoing a blast event. The aim of the Phase I effort is to develop an occupant sensor suite for blast events based on the utilization of an accurate response model. The computational simulation will use integrated models of a vehicle; seat, occupant, and blast event in simulations run on a multi-physics platform. By using this model in simulation of anticipated blast events, a mathematical correlation can be developed between sensor locations and the necessary sensed parameters, thus providing a scientific and objective basis for the design of the sensor system.