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The protection of vehicle occupants against landmines is a systems problem which must consider multiple failure paths that can lead to occupant injuries. The response of a vehicle to underbelly blast from a landmine can be divided into three categories: 1) hull response to an immediate external blast load; 2) internal vehicle dynamics; and 3) global vehicle motions. Vehicle survivability is a broad and complex topic which is discussed in these terms and examples of protective subsystem elements are included. This paper argues that decomposing a complex blast protection system into its components from a systems point of view should contribute to the enhanced survivability of vehicle occupants.

After briefly summarizing worldwide automotive gas turbine activity, the paper analyses the power plant requirements of a wide range of vehicle applications in order to formulate the design criteria for acceptable vehicle gas turbines. Ample data are available on the thermodynamic merits of various gas turbine cycles; however, the low cost of its piston engine competitor tends to eliminate all but the simplest cycles from vehicle gas turbine considerations. In order to improve the part load fuel economy, some complexity is inevitable, but this is limited to the addition of a glass ceramic regenerator in the 150 b.h.p. engine which is described in some detail. The alternative further complications necessary to achieve satisfactory vehicle response at various power/weight ratios are examined. Further improvement in engine performance will come by increasing the maximum cycle temperature. This can be achieved at lower cost by the extension of the use of ceramics. The paper is intended to stimulate the design application of the gas turbine engine.

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