Evaluation of Foot Protection Effectiveness Against AP Mine Blasts: Effect of Deflector Geometry

Abstract

In this study, the effectiveness of blast deflectors used in protective footwear against antipersonnel (AP) mines was investigated. The tip angle of a V-shaped deflector and the overall shape (symmetrical, unsymmetrical) were chosen as the design parameters to be examined, whereas parameters such as deflector material and wall thickness were kept constant. Both explicit dynamic finite element analysis (LS-Dyna) and blast tests were performed to evaluate the effectiveness of these design parameters. The analysis results were also verified with the blast tests. A visual (qualitative) comparison between the analysis results and the blast tests showed a good agreement on the final deformed geometry of the deflector, which suggested that the simulation was able to capture the energy absorption mechanism of the deflector. The analysis results showed that the peak force transmitted to the leg decreased tremendously with the addition of blast deflectors. When compared to the case with no deflectors, an unsymmetrical and symmetrical deflector reduced the peak force by a factor of 24 and 36, respectively.

Development of an innovative sandwich composite material for protection of lower limb against landmine explosion: mechanical leg test results

“…A deflector which was used at the mentioned samples consists of 2 mm-thick steel plates and the inner parts were filled with 3 mm aluminum honey comb core. 21 The top of the deflector was covered with a cover which consists of a 1 mm thick steel plate after placing the honeycomb inside the deflector. The deflector was placed on the boot's heel.…”

Development of an innovative sandwich composites for the protection of lower limbs against landmine explosions

“…Because there is not any reinforcing or energy absorbing material in standard military boot soles, the effects of the blast were transmitted directly to the tibia axis. Previous studies 14,20 found that deformable composite structures should be used for effective energy absorption. The energy absorption properties of the type-2 and type-3 samples that were used in previous experiments had been studied in detailed using a mechanical leg model.…”

“…The deflectors, which were used in the mentioned samples, consist of 2-mm-thick steel plates, and the inner parts were filled aluminum honeycomb cores with 3-mm cells. 14 The top of the deflector was covered with a 1-mm-thick steel plate after placing honeycomb inside the deflector. The deflector was placed on the heels of the boots.…”

“…Therefore, the latest designs have an energy absorbing material below the composite layers to reduce the magnitude of the incident wave simply by inelastic deformation. [12][13][14] Such parts are generally in the form of V-shaped deflectors in the sole to reflect the incident blast wave, thus reducing the momentum transmitted to the feet. 15 The common characteristics of protective boots or footwear are that they have polymer composite materials in their soles to protect against the blast effects.…”