Review of Design Techniques of Armored Vehicles for Protection Against Blast From Improvised Explosive Devices

Abstract

This review paper covers the subject of vehicle design for protection against the blast of improvised explosive devices. It summarizes the most recent techniques in the design of vehicle structures for blast protection. This review pinpoints the challenges in designing a vehicle for blast protection and maintaining acceptable mobility at the same time. In addition, this paper reveals and summarizes key design principles based on the critical assessment of the published literature. This review covers the state of the art design methods for each individual part of vehicle structure. It also identifies the role of human protective gear and its effectiveness in mitigating blast related injuries. This review suggests future trends in developing innovative protective structures that are inspired by nature or manufactured. The aim of this review is to guide and advance the research of vehicle design for blast protection.

Stature and mitigation systems affect the risk of leg injury in vehicles attacked under the body by explosive devices

“…The incorporation of the Meindl combat boot resulted in a decrease between 18% and 24% in the force transmitted to the leg for peak impact speeds above 11.25 m/s, which is within the range of previous studies that explored loading attenuation to the tibia from the use of combat boots (Manseau and Keown, 2005;Geurts et al, 2006;North Atlantic Treaty Organisation RTO-TR-HFM-090, 2007;Newell et al, 2012;Kamel, 2019).…”

“…In order to minimize the severity of these blast injuries, mitigation strategies have included the targeted redesign of armored vehicles and the development of mobile personal protection systems (Ramasamy et al, 2009;Kamel, 2019). An energy-dissipating structure that has been used between the encroaching floor and the occupant's feet is a floor mat; indeed, it has been shown in physical experiments that floor mats are able to attenuate load under impact (Newell et al, 2013).…”

Influence of Ball Bearing Size on the Flight and Damage Characteristics of Blast-Driven Ball Bearings

“…These observations concerning peak velocity and the sharp drop in velocity can be explained by considering the pressure distribution following detonation, its interaction with the ball bearing, and the implications for the later reflected pressure interactions. Our previous work [8] showed that explosive charges with aspect ratios below a critical value were more efficient at transferring momentum to 5 mm diameter ball bearings. The aspect ratio of 0.8 was one of the best for transferring momentum because the shape of the pressure front reaching the 5 mm ball bearing meant that there was a slightly higher pressure behind the ball bearing located at the radial centre than the pressure at the radial edges of the charge.…”

“…It also explains why the reflected blast pressures did not cause larger percentage drops in the bearing speed for the same charge mass and shape-firstly, the momentum was higher, requiring greater pressures to decelerate the bearings, and secondly, less of the charge mass directly contributed to the reflected pressure front due to the increased bearing surface area (decreasing the surface area over which the opposing blast pressure acts). When charge mass and shape are varied, there are additional factors to consider, such as the influence of aspect ratio on the efficiency of momentum transfer to the bearing itself (see [8]) and that larger charge masses increase the reflected blast pressures, causing the bearing velocity to decrease more rapidly.…”

“…Much research is being conducted to detect IEDs [4,5] and prevent their detonation [6,7]. Other approaches include improved armour for military targets [8], hardening of large-scale critical civilian infrastructure against large IED attacks [9], and research into the destruction of IEDs in the battlefield arena [7]. Vanderherden et al [10] report on the extraction of touch DNA and fingerprints from detonated IEDs to facilitate the tracking and prosecution of terrorists.…”