Citation

Begonia M, Rooks TF, Pintar FA, Yoganandan N. Mil. Med. 2019; 184(Suppl 1): 237-244.

Affiliation

Zablocki VA Medical Center, Neuroscience Research Laboratories, 5000 West National Avenue, Milwaukee, WI.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Association of Military Surgeons of the United States)

DOI

10.1093/milmed/usy282

PMID

30901450

Abstract

Blunt impact assessment of the Advanced Combat Helmet (ACH) is currently based on the linear head response. The current study presents a methodology for testing the ACH under complex loading that generates linear and rotational head motion. Experiments were performed on a guided, free-fall drop tower using an instrumented National Operating Committee for Standards on Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE) head attached to a Hybrid III (HIII) or EuroSID-2 (ES-2) dummy neck and carriage. Rear and lateral impacts occurred at 3.0 m/s with peak linear accelerations (PLA) and peak rotational accelerations (PRA) measured at the NOCSAE head center-of-gravity. Experimental data served as inputs for the Simulated Injury Monitor (SIMon) computational model to estimate brain strain. Rear ACH impacts had 22% and 7% higher PLA and PRA when using the HIII neck versus the ES-2 neck. Lateral ACH impacts had 33% and 35% lower PLA and PRA when using HIII neck versus the ES-2 neck. Computational results showed that total estimated brain strain increased by 25% and 76% under rear and lateral ACH impacts when using the ES-2 neck. This methodology was developed to simulate complex ACH impacts involving the rotational head motion associated with diffuse brain injuries, including concussion, in military environments.

Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Association of Military Surgeons of the United States 2019.

Language: en

Keywords

Advanced Combat Helmet; CSDM; EuroSID-2; Hybrid III; NOCSAE