The effects of head-supported mass on the risk of neck injury in army personnel

Merkle, Andrew C.; Kleinberger, Michael; Uy, O. Manuel

Abstract

Throughout the evolution of military helmet systems, the amount of head-supported mass (HSM) worn by Army personnel has steadily increased. The U.S. Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory is working to establish recommended limits and guidelines for HSM that can be worn safely by soldiers. To support this effort, crash sled tests were conducted at APL's Impact Biomechanics Facility. These tests, simulating a typical frontal crash environment experienced by soldiers in both ground vehicles and rotary wing aircraft, were used to evaluate the effects of HSM on anthropomorphic test devices. A two-phase experimental design was used to evaluate the influence of independent HSM factors on occupant response. Injury measures, including neck forces and moments, were used to assess potential occupant injury. Test results provided statistically significant correlations between the independent factors and predicted injury, suggesting that future helmet design will be controlled by the selected injury measures.

Links

URL: http://www.jhuapl.edu/techdigest/TD/td2601/Merkle.pdf

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Cited By (3)

Year	Entry
2013	Gaur SJ, Joshi VV, Aravindakshan B, Aravind AS. Determination of helmet CG and evaluation of neck injury potentials using "Knox Box criteria" and neck torque limits. Indian J Aerospace Med. 2013;57(1):37-44.
2020	Ge X, Zhou Q, Liu Z. Ergonomic evaluation of pilot helmet and neck injury. In: Ahram T, ed. Advances in Human Factors in Wearable Technologies and Game Design. Proceedings of the AHFE 2019 International Conference on Human Factors and Wearable Technologies, and the AHFE International Conference on Game Design and Virtual Environments; July 24-28, 2019; Washington, DC. Cham, Switzerland: Springer Nature Switerzland AG; 2020:154-166. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing; vol 973.
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