Testing the blast response of foam inserts for helmets

Abstract

Modern era combat helmets have different iterations and configurations to offer greater protection from blunt impact or ballistic penetration to suit the theatre of operation, although there are currently no standards for blast protection. Moreover, incorporation of blast protection into the same constrained mass-volume envelope is extremely challenging as there is very little space for a material to absorb or dissipate the shockwave. Foam padding is fitted in contemporary combat helmet designs for comfort and standoff purposes. Examples were subjected to blastwaves generated from an air-driven shocktube, along with open cell polyurethane foam specimens of varying pores per inch and thicknesses to. Whilst the range of samples tested did not afford any superior blast mitigation behaviour over the foam already present in helmets, they exhibited comparable performance with a lower mass. There also appears to be positive correlation between increased mass and increased impulse transmitted through the foam. The literature suggests that multiple mechanisms of damage for blast induced mild Traumatic Brain Injury (bTBI) can be caused by the helmet itself, therefore additional protection from a blunt or ballistic impact may increase the risk of damage from a blast insult.