Load-attenuating seat cushions designed for crashworthy seating systems must serve a dual purpose. sufficient cushioning must be used to evenly distribute contract loads to avoid contaract loads to avoid pressure points that can cause discomfort,but the demands of crash loading. also, the rigors of… More

A program is herein described that will establish the possible improvements in existing restraint systems and through a conceptual and developmental tradeoff phase, establish feasibility of at least one concept that will represent a quantum step in the performance of crew restraint systems. the… More

Current testing manikins have been developed to simulate human response to impact conditions primarily for applications in the automotive industry. of main concern has been the response of the neck to forward and lateral impact directions. as a result, the development and improvement of test… More

Modern military aircraft are expected to protect their occupants in crashes of up to 42-ft./sec. sink rate, which causes very rapid compression of the landing gear shock struts. in this crash condition, one way to prevent excessive pressure within a standard air/oil shock strut is to discharge fluid… More

A feasibility study of means of weight reduction in crashworthy armored crewseats of the type used in newer army helicopters. the study shall focus primarily on three approaches to weight reduction: a lighter armor system through advanced materials and/or processes, a lighter structure through the… More

The trend in future u.s. army aircraft is toward incorporation of composite materials in primary structures to achieve weight reductions and lower production costs. this is evidenced by the all composite airframe program (acap) currently being funded by the army. however, the potential weight… More

Chronic lower back pain in helicopter pilots is a significant problem. the task of controlling a helicopter, whether it is hovering or moving strategically in flight is physically taxing. pilots are subjected to extremely uncomfortable seating positions associated with controlling the aircraft and… More

The current navy inventory of parachutes used for non-ejection egress from aircraft is primarily the nb-8 configuration. this parachute system is relatively heavy and has a high life cycle cost related to the fuel consumption, loss of payload capability, and repacking at 210-day intervals. the… More

The feasibility of modifying crashworthy crewseat designs to accommodate a reclined seat back compatible with future low-profile military aircraft will be explored. a parametric study will be conducted, considering a matrix of seat back angles, seat pan angles, and seat stroke angles. computer… More

Manikins are currently fabricated with a skeleton of metal "bones" which provide the structural strength required to withstand the repeatedly high accelerations and loads of dynamic testing. such metal structures, however, do not exhibit proper segment inertial distribution or load-deformation… More

The mission and performance requirements of u.s. army aircraft are continually becoming more stringent. to meet these mmore demanding requirements, significant weight reductions must be made. the use of composite materials in primary aircraft structures is one of the technologies being developed to… More

The use of thermoplastic materials in rotor components may significantly reduce the problem of delaminations and increase fatigue life. however, little is known of the effect that manufacturing flaws, impurities, and voids have on rotor thermoplastic components strength and stiffness after an… More

An increasing number or wheelchair-bound students are attending public schools, a process known as "maninstreaming". consequently, protecting these students in the event of a school bus collision is a significant safety issue. existing restraint systems tend to focus on restraining the wheelchair… More

The latest u.s. army production helicopters include crewseats which significantly reduce the probability of spinal injury due to vertical impact forces. however, the risk of injury to the upper torso and head due to secondary impacts is still unacceptably high. one of the reasons for this is that… More

This proposal is for an adjunct to flir sensors to reduce the noise equivalent temperature difference and minimum resolvable temperature difference each by a factor of four (4). the proposed adjunct can be applied to existing flirs without modifying the flir in any way. this processor will enable… More

The incorporation of crashworthy, self-sealing fuel tanks into helicopters during the late sixties resulted in a substantial reduction of injuries and fatalities caused by post-crash fires. the technology used in today's crashworthy, self-sealing fuel tanks is the same basic technology that was… More

Advanced composite materials have evolved to be the class of materials which meet the strict requirements of many ground- and space-based critical structures. systems which incorporate these novel materials are frequently exposed to harsh envirments during service, and must therefore be manufactured… More

The overall objective of this project is to develop a reliable, low-cost neural network architecture for sensors, and real-time processing to continuously monitor the structural health of the thick composite structure used in armored vehicles. The Phase I demonstration will be implemented with… More

The development effort will be divided into two major tasks: develop and evaluate candidate protection concepts, and investigate and evaluate armor materials to be used in the concepts. There are unique ballistic protection concepts and armor materials which we will evaluate. We intend to consider,… More

We will improve the ease, cost, and efficiency of using splints and braces to treat patients with musculoskeletal disorders. Splints are commonly used to treat sprains, fractures, muscle contraction, and spasticity; braces are commonly used to hold joints or limbs in place. For more effective… More

The principal goal of the Phase I program is to demonstrate the feasibility of predicting the likelihood of injury by developing an injury-predicting criterion for one segment of the human body. The Phase I effort will concentrate on identifying relevant neck-related injuries, determining loads and… More

Ground troops have the need for a personnel armor that will provide them protection from multiple battlefield threats such as fragmentation nd small-arms rifle fire up to .30 cal. Simula will develop an armor system from two new materials which were recently tested and yielded promising results. A… More

The objective of the proposed work is to conveive restraint locking devices capable of locking aviator torso restraints with less than 2.5 cm of webbing travel. Existing aviator torso restraints depend on sensing webbing acceleration that has reached a critical threshold. However webbing motion is… More