Protecting Warfighters with Lightweight Bio-Inspired Cellular Helmets Designed for Mitigating Blast Induced Brain Injury and Enhancing Comfort Across Multiple Environments

Cortex Dynamix will design, simulate, validate, and optimize a multi-scale blast-resistant helmet system, including coupon-level samples, a sectional model, and a full prototype. Initial validation of the coupon and sectional models will be conducted using a pressure-driven shock tube at the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA). These models will be used to study the effects of curvature and identify optimal configurations through a combination of experimental testing and computational optimization. Insights from these efforts will inform the design and simulation of a full-scale prototype. Next, UTA’s Aerodynamics Research Center (ARC) will perform controlled laboratory blast tests using a pulse detonation engine. Coupon, sectional, and full helmet prototypes will be evaluated using established and emerging performance metrics. These results will guide further design and refinement of the full prototype. The final optimized helmet will undergo field blast testing by the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) at an outdoor blast arena. Cortex will also partner with Team Wendy to co-develop a hybrid blast-ballistic shell. Both the blast-only and hybrid prototypes will be tested at ballistic ranges and in NRL blast scenarios to assess performance and operational viability. The resulting lightweight helmet systems will be designed to reduce blast-induced brain injury risk while enhancing protection and comfort across diverse operational environments.