Author(s)

M. Müller, U. Dierkes & J. Hampel

Abstract

Personnel safety is crucial in operations where mines pose a threat. In peacekeeping and peace-enforcing operations’ occupant protection is given top priority. During the past decade up to now, the IABG Defence & Security Department has been supporting the German MoD and Industry in most national and international vehicular mine protection and IED-protection programmes with independent engineering consultancy services and basic research. The original work shifted from the focus on protection against blast mines to a combined protection against blast and projectiles. With regards to the field of terrorist (IED) attack protection, the insights in blast mine protection still remain the basic background at which protection measures can be illustrated. This paper gives a brief overview about the blast mine protection field. Starting with general structural effects caused by a blast detonation, special focus is placed on the occupant loading and how it can be reduced. A brief description of simulation methods and injury criteria which are in focus for vertical loading conditions is therefore given. Beside vehicular qualification trials basic research on occupant protection by means of test rig configurations is presented. The test rigs for occupant safety systems TROSS I & TROSS II® give the opportunity to investigate different loading conditions and interior measures in a reproducible way. As an outlook aspects of the growing R&D topic \“Research of protection against roadside bombing (IED)” are discussed. Keywords: mine protection, blast loading, structural dynamics, occupant dynamics, dummy measurement.

Keywords

mine protection, blast loading, structural dynamics, occupant dynamics, dummy measurement.