Semi-Active Damped Seating Technology for the EFV

A shock mitigating seat will be developed for the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV). The seat will be designed to protect occupants from the high vibration and shock loads that are present inside the crew compartment. An additional benefit is that these systems will be capable of mitigating shock and vibration transmitted into the EFV during both land and sea operations. In Phase I, a conceptual design of all the major components for the suspension will be developed. The Phase I Option will be focused on generating a detailed layout of the suspension based on the component specifications and packaging constraints identified in Phase I. This will provide the basis for the detailed design and fabrication of a prototype system capable of withstanding extended proof of concept and feasibility testing in Phase II. Dynamic modeling will be used to predict system benefits and provide sensor and actuator requirements that will be used during the design process. The suspension design will attempt to fit into the same volumes as the current systems and seats and will allow full functionality with greatly improved shock and vibration mitigation.