Mitigation of Blast Injuries through Modeling and Simulation

The U.S. Armed forces face the need for rapid deployment from the United States in order to engage regional threats decisively on a global basis. Size and weight are paramount factors for ground combat vehicles supporting this force projection structure. Lighter weight vehicles is an enabling factor for faster transport, higher mobility, fuel conservation, and a reduced ground footprint of supporting forces. At the same time the design of ground combat vehicles to survive a blast from a mine or from an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) is of great interest in order to provide an appropriate level of protection for the vehicle and its occupants. Weight reduction and high levels of survivability are mutually competing objectives. Therefore, a significant effort must be invested in order to ensure that the vehicle’s survivability is not compromised. Michigan Engineering Services, LLC (MES) has developed a Blast Event Simulation sysTem (BEST) for providing a seamless and easy to use technology for conducting blast simulations and injury analysis. In this manner it eliminates the burden of specialized knowledge from the analyst who will be conducting the simulations. The BEST simulation process was first validated through comparison with test data available in the literature. Further validation has been completed for a generic vehicle structure with a V shaped double bottom and subjected to a load from an explosion. A Hybrid III ATDs was placed inside the structure during the test. Results from the BEST simulation process were compared successfully with test data for the deformation of the structure and for the loads developed in the lower legs of the occupant. The proposed Phase I effort will demonstrate the ability of BEST to conduct simulations for non-centerline IED explosions, and the feasibility of utilizing BEST for introducing design changes in the generic vehicle for improving the occupant’s safety.