Crash testing and validation of Military vehicles has not to date, accounted for the Soldier gear burden. Actual loads imparted onto the occupant in a representative Military vehicle crash test environment have been limited and do not reflect what an occupant would actually see in this type of an event. The US Army Soldier encumbered with his gear poses a challenge in restraint system design that is not typical in the automotive world. The weight of the gear encumbrance may have a significant effect on how the restraint system performs and protects the occupant during a frontal event. Other system level complications to Military vehicle interiors are secondary impact surfaces, such as instrument panels, ammunition cans and weaponry which provide a path for off-loading the energy generated by the occupant and gear combination. The energy absorption of these surfaces however, is not ideal in current Military vehicle designs and may result in injury or death. The goal of this study was to investigate gear and accelerative pulses as they relate to the restraints and occupant interaction. Data from this study will be used for further restraint development. To limit experimental variation a fixed steel seat structure was utilized throughout the entire testing series. It is hypothesized that determining these effects will lead to a restraint system design that can be optimized to provide restraint for the whole range of occupant sizes and gear variations. Further reductions in occupant injury are achieved by properly tuning the surrounding trim, air bags and cargo contact surfaces. Results of this study indicate the inclusion of the soldier gear may increase the likelihood of occupant excursion and injury. Variation in accelerative pulses resulted in lower injury values and occupant displacements.

As part of the campaign to increase readiness in northern regions, a near commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) solution was identified for the High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV); and used to assess the suitability of commercially available winter tires for operational deployment. Initial performance evaluations conducted during the winters of 2020 and 2021 demonstrated and quantified significant improvements to traction and handling on a variety of winter surfaces. User feedback from United States Army Alaska (USARAK) Soldiers confirmed these results in an operational environment. Results of this study provide new winter tire specifications for the Army and justify the procurement of a HMMWV winter tire for improved safety and capability for US Soldier and vehicle fleet needs. The data and Soldier evaluations support attaining a National Stock Number (NSN) and provide data to develop models of winter vehicle performance that include the impact of winter tires and chains. This work also paves the way for future development and procurement of winter tires for vehicles where COTS solutions are unavailable. The motivation is to provide Soldiers with state-of-the-art winter tires to increase safety, capability, and operational compatibility with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) partners in the European Theater of Operations, and mobility superiority in all environments.

This work is based on a current project funded by the United States Army Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program and is being conducted with the Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) Ground Systems Survivability (GSS) Team and Paradigm Research and Engineering. The focus of this project is to develop an advanced and novel sensing and activation strategy for Pyrotechnic Restraint Systems, Air Bags and other systems that may require activation. The overriding technical challenge is to activate these systems to effectively protect the Soldier during blast events in addition to Crash, Rollover and Other Injury Causing events. These activations of Pyrotechnic systems must occur in fractions of milliseconds as compared to typical automotive crashes. By investigating systems outside of typical accelerometer based applications and activations, the potential exists to exploit systems that require little power, are self-contained and provide the required output for the desired result. As such Constant-Flux Magnetostrictive Sensors shall be evaluated in a self-contained environment to provide the output during these events. By activating the Pyrotechnic Restraint Systems and Air Bag Systems early in Blast Events, the systems can Restrain the Occupant and provide flail protection from surfaces within the vehicle. As the system is developed various test scenarios will be introduced to activate these systems and design a robust sensing and activating strategy.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss and present a hypothetical situation using real world experience. In the course of this outline no particular information actual test information such as loads, designs and test results will be revealed. However a hypothetical load, design and test result will be presented typical of what could be expected during run flat testing.

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