Engineering Commons^™

Design Of Experimental Methods To Test The Performance Of Pads And Helmets Under Blast Loading Conditions, Kurtis Palu

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Improvised explosive devices (IEDs) have become a primary weapon in conflicts against US and allied forces. Improvements in body armor and medicine have increased the survivability of such events. These factors have caused an increase in traumatic brain injury (TBI) and mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) induced by primary blast waves. Injury mechanisms caused from primary blast waves are not clearly understood or defined. How primary blast waves interact with materials or between narrow gaps found between helmet pads is not known. Two novel test fixtures were developed to provide a basic understanding of these two issues.

The first fixture …