Development of an innovative sandwich composites for the protection of lower limbs against landmine explosions

Abstract

This article includes the results of blast tests that were performed with the aim of comparing the energy absorption and protection efficiencies of protective boots with different sole configurations. The tests were performed using a frangible leg model vestured with protective boots. Strain values were measured during the blast tests to determine the protection efficiencies of different sole configurations of the protective boots. Filling honeycomb cells with glass microspheres dramatically increased the energy absorption. In the type-3 samples, which were produced with these microspheres, the strain through the tibia axis decreased 83-47% for different explosive weights compared with the type-1 samples and 52-13% for different explosive weights compared with the type-2 samples; the type-1 and type-2 samples do not have glass microspheres. Bone damage and mine trauma score values show that the type-3 boot provides absolute protection against 40g of Trinitrotoluene (TNT) and that the injuries that occurred in the tests performed using 70 and 110g of TNT can be reduced to a curable level without amputation.