Risk Assessment Regarding the Injuries of the Lower Limbs of the Driver of a Military Vehicle in the Case of an Explosion Under the Vehicle

The protection of soldiers performing tactical operations in armoured vehicles plays an important role in combat operations. The need for such protection results from threats on battle-fields or during peace-keeping missions connected with the explosion of mines or Improvised Explosive Devices (IED). As a result of an explosion, the occupants of the vehicle are exposed to the effects of the shock wave as well as overloads caused by the movement of the vehicle. Simulation and experimental tests play a significant role in ensuring the safety of occupants exposed to the effects of loads caused by an explosion. It is possible to specify the conditions creating loads to the body, and also to determine interaction forces in the lower libs of the human body, using models which include the description of the explosive, parameters of the vehicle and the model of the human body. The case connected with the behaviour of the vehicle's driver during the detonation of an explosive placed centrally under the driver's compartment has been analysed in this paper. Thanks to that, it is possible to demonstrate the influence of the seize of the explosive on the overloads of limbs. Based on the results of the calculations, it has been stated that the forces coming from the shock wave transferred to the foot of the limb are so important that they largely influence the seize of limb injuries. The reduction of the interaction force of the above-mentioned sources consists mainly in developing such a construction of the vehicle which minimises the danger of damaging the plating and renders it possible to maximally dissipate the shock wave by the vehicle's construction.