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Countermeasures design and analysis for occupant survivability of an armored vehicle subjected to blast load

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Abstract

The demand for blastworthy structures increases due to a large number of casualties in the armored vehicle undergoing improvised explosive device (IED) and landmine attacks. In this research, the numerical studies on the countermeasure analysis to reduce injury biomechanics risk were conducted. The available experiment data of occupant survivability test on a medium size tank was used to validate the numerical model. The subsystem evaluation in this study included the finite element modeling of military personnel, seat system, surrounding interior system, seatbelt, and restraint system with four running conditions. The military personnel inside the armored vehicle was modeled by using Hybrid III 50th percentile anthropomorphic test device (ATD) and its biomechanical response was monitored on the head, neck, thorax, spine, femur, and tibia. The load case for this study referred to NATO STANAG 4569 level 3b with 8 kg TNT explosive load underbelly. The injury assessment reference values (IARV) for the regulation used in this study were based on AEP-55 volume 2. Based on this study, the critical injuries identified on the head injury, neck compression, and tibia axial load. The solid frame as part of seat structure appeared to contribute to an excessive kinematic on the lower extremities. The vehicle acceleration resulted from the load blast was directly transmitted to the lower extremities, resulting in unintended kinematic and interaction on the passenger body. The proposed solutions were to introduce a flexible mounting for the seat system and as well increasing the height of the footrest to avoid direct transmission of vehicle acceleration. The modified countermeasure design reduced significantly head, neck, and tibia injury criteria more than 90 % from the baseline design (existing design). The new anti-mine seat design successfully passed all the standard regulation thresholds of injury criteria.

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Abbreviations

A :

Yield strength in Johnson-Cook material

B, n, C :

Johnson-Cook hardening parameters

C p :

Specific heat coefficient

E :

Young’s modulus

F max :

Maximum tensile force

G :

Shear modulus

m :

Johnson-Cook thermal softening parameter

T :

Working temperature

T m :

Melting temperature

T r :

Room temperature

α :

Thermal expansion coefficient

έ:

Working strain rate

έ0 :

Strain rate reference

έD :

Densification strain

έf :

Failure strain

έpl :

True plastic strain

π:

Density

σpl :

True plastic stress

U :

Poisson’s ratio

X :

Taylor-Quinney coefficient

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Acknowledgments

This collaborative research is jointly conducted by Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB) and PT PINDAD. The authors would like to thank LPDP RISPRO Program for funding support under grant number PRJ-634/LPDP/2016, and PT PINDAD for its continuous support. We would like to thank the Indonesian Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education for providing partial funding under WCU Program managed by ITB, and for providing scholarship and research assistantship under Master-Doctor Scholarship Program (PMDSU). Thanks are due to LSTC for the courtesy of the academic license of LSDYNA to Lightweight Structure Research Group ITB.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Lightweight Structures Research Group, Faculty of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Ganesha 10, Bandung, 40132, Indonesia

    Arief Nur Pratomo, Sigit Puji Santosa, Leonardo Gunawan & Ichsan Setya Putra

  2. National Center for Sustainable Transportation Technology, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Ganesha 10, Bandung, 40132, Indonesia

    Sigit Puji Santosa, Leonardo Gunawan & Ichsan Setya Putra

Authors
  1. Arief Nur Pratomo
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  2. Sigit Puji Santosa
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  3. Leonardo Gunawan
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  4. Ichsan Setya Putra
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sigit Puji Santosa.

Additional information

Sigit Puji Santosa is a faculty member in the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Indonesia. He received his doctoral degree in Mechanical Engineering from MIT, and currently the Director for National Center for Sustainable Transportation Technology (NCSTT), Indonesia.

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Pratomo, A.N., Santosa, S.P., Gunawan, L. et al. Countermeasures design and analysis for occupant survivability of an armored vehicle subjected to blast load. J Mech Sci Technol 34, 1893–1899 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-020-0411-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-020-0411-1

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