Validation of a Simulation Process for Assessing the Response of a Vehicle and Its Occupants to an Explosive Threat, 27th Army Science Conference

Lighter weight military vehicles facilitate faster transport, higher mobility, fuel conservation, and a reduced ground footprint of supporting forces. At the same time the design of ground combat vehicles to survive a blast from a mine or from any other explosive threats is of great interest in order to provide an appropriate level of protection for the vehicle and its occupants. Weight reduction and high levels of survivability are mutually competing objectives. Therefore, a significant effort must be invested in order to ensure that the vehicle’s survivability is not compromised. Full size blast tests are expensive and time consuming to organize. Using a numerical simulation for predicting the interaction of the blast load with the vehicle and th