Flame, Smoke, and Toxicity Energy Attenuating Materials for Use in Military Vehicles 2018-01-0847

Tank Automotive Research, Development, and Engineering Center (TARDEC) researched flame, smoke, and toxicity requirements for energy attenuating (EA) materials for use in U.S. Army Ground System Vehicle (GSV) applications. The purpose of this project is to reduce secondary thermal injury as a result of introducing EA materials into the military vehicle’s interior. Commercial-off-the-shelf materials were evaluated for their flame, smoke, and toxicity performance using three American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards: ASTM E1354, ASTM E162, and ASTM E162. The results of this effort identified solutions which may potentially meet the needs of the Army’s unique thermal environment. TARDEC used the knowledge gained from this project to create performance specification requirements for interior head impact protective materials for us in U.S. Army vehicles.