Computational investigation of blast survivability and off-road performance of an up-armoured high-mobility multi-purpose wheeled vehicle

• Published in: Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Part D, Journal of automobile engineering Vol. 223; no. 3; pp. 301 - 325
• Main Authors: Grujicic, M, Arakere, G, Nallagatla, H, Bell, W C, Haque, I
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London, England SAGE Publications 01.03.2009; Sage Publications; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Armored vehicles; Balances (scales); Ballistic vehicles; Ballistics; Brakes; Braking systems; Buckling; Chaos theory; Computer simulation; Crack initiation; Deformation; Detonation; Drives; Economic models; Exact sciences and technology; Failure; Finite element method; Fragmentation; Fundamental areas of phenomenology (including applications); Inelasticity (thermoplasticity, viscoplasticity...); Mathematical analysis; Mathematical models; Mechanical engineering. Machine design; Military; Military vehicles; Nonlinearity; Physics; Retrofitting; Safety; Shafts, couplings, clutches, brakes; Solid mechanics; Stability; Structural and continuum mechanics; Systems stability; Vibration, mechanical wave, dynamic stability (aeroelasticity, vibration control...); high-mobility multi-purpose wheeled vehicle; off-road vehicle performance; blast survivability; Simpack; abaqus; Wheel; Crosscountry vehicle; High strain; Detonation; Sand; N body system; Modeling; Military application; Finite element method; Maneuverability; Kinematics; Ballistics; Passenger; Mechanical protection; Brake; Vehicle stability; Transient response; Bumpers; Traffic safety; Blast wave; Non linear effect; Mechanical shock
• ISSN: 0954-4070; 2041-2991
• DOI: 10.1243/09544070JAUTO1063

Abstract Since ballistic and blast survivability and off-road handling and stability of military vehicles, such as the high-mobility multi-purpose wheeled vehicle (HMMWV), are two critical vehicle performance aspects, they both (including the delicate balance between them) have to be considered when a new vehicle is being designed or an existing vehicle retrofitted (e.g. up-armoured). Finite-element-based transient non-linear dynamics and multi-body longitudinal dynamics computational analyses were employed, relatively, in the present work to address the following two specific aspects of the performance of an HMMWV: first, the ability of the vehicle to survive detonation of a landmine shallow buried into sand underneath the right wheel of the vehicle and, second, the ability of the vehicle to withstand a simple straight-line brake manoeuvre during off-road travel without compromising its stability and safety of its occupants. Within the first analysis, the kinematic and structural responses (including large-scale rotation and deformation, buckling, plastic yielding, failure initiation, fracture, and fragmentation) of the HMMWV to the detonation of a landmine were analysed computationally using the general-purpose transient non-linear dynamics analysis software ABAQUS/Explicit. The second analysis was carried out using Simpack, a general-purpose multi-body dynamics program, and the main purpose of this analysis was to address the vehicle stability during the off-road travel. The same sand model was used in both types of analysis. Finally, the computational results obtained are compared with general field-test observations and data in order to judge the physical soundness and fidelity of the present approach.