The development of a ballistic method for simulating fragments from buried explosive devices
conference paper
No standard scientific methodology currently exists to assess the performance of personal protection equipment (PPE) against secondary debris, such as soil, grit and stones, ejected when a buried improvised explosive device (IED) detonates. Different test methods are used for this evaluation. The PPE can be placed around a buried explosive threat; an expensive arena style blast trial. Alternatively the ballistic limit velocity of the PPE against very small metal Fragment Simulated Projectiles (FSP) can be determined, however, the steel FSPs are not very representative for soil particles. A more realistic and low cost option is to evaluate PPE impacted by actual soil or grit using laboratory firing techniques. With this method a high degree of reproducibility can be obtained, while the interaction mechanisms between the real debris and PPE can be studied. The created understanding with this test method helps to develop new protection solutions. This paper describes the developed test methodology to consistently accelerate surrogate soils with different sabot types. The usage of 3D printed sabots is investigated. Different parameters of the created test method are presented and discussed, like the fragment density of the debris impact, the velocity of the debris and the type of soil or grit.
TNO Identifier
572450
Publisher
TNO
Source title
PASS 2016, Personal Armour Systems Symposium, Marine Establishment Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 19-23 september 2016
Collation
7 p.
Files
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