Abstract
To determine behind armor blunt trauma injury criteria, experiments have been conducted to launch projectiles at live swine at velocities ranging up to 65 m/s using one type of indenter design. To ensure the generalizability of the developed injury criteria, tests are needed with other indenter designs. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the kinematics and injury parameters from two indenter designs using human body finite element modeling. The simulation matrix consisted of indenter designs of chord and cylindrical shape, and 150 and 230 grams (g) mass, with impacts to liver and lung regions at 30 and 60 m/s. Rib and lung strains from lung impacts, and rib strains and liver strain energy densities from liver impacts were used to evaluate the design variables of mass and shape. Both designs played a role in skeletal and organ injury parameters. Analysis revealed the increased susceptibility for skeletal and organ traumas with the high mass indenter at high velocity impacts. The cylindrical indenter may be protective for organ injuries due to the larger area of loading on the ribcage compared to the chord indenter. Results from the chord indenter may serve as a conservative estimate of injury criteria.