Personal protection equipment and systems
Armoring
The growing threat of explosive weapon attacks against tactical and civilian vehicles makes armoring for protection from blasts and fragments an increasing need. Developing successful armor designs for these lightweight vehicles is challenging, given the weight and geometrical limitations. The trick is to combine strength, ductility, and stiffness in an armoring approach that increases occupant safety while minimizing degradation of vehicle performance.
Protection Engineering Consultants engineers have a decade of experience developing underbody armor systems for tactical systems such as the M1114 and M1116 up-armored HMMWVs. This armor was designed and validated for a particular bare explosive underbody threat and has performed successfully numerous times. The armor was not designed for fragmenting munitions and must be supplemented with interior fragment protection.
Protection Engineering Consultants is currently supporting the Technical Support Working Group in developing test protocols and performance standards for armored passenger vehicles, which includes the design, analysis, fabrication and validation testing of unique armor systems. As part of this effort, numerous tests of APVs, with instrumented anthropomorphic test devices (ATDs or "crash test dummies") have been performed and the resulting data has been used by Protection Engineering Consultants to develop test procedures and standards for validating APV performance against explosive weapons.
Protection Engineering Consultants uses LS-DYNA analytical software in the design and evaluation of a wide range of blast-loaded and impact-loaded armored and un-armored vehicles and structures. We also evaluate the safety of the vehicle occupants, using numerical models of ATDs.
Protection equipment and system development
Our engineers have developed novel high- and low-tech devices for the protection of very important persons (VIPs). Much of this work was done for the Technical Support Working Group, a DoD-mandated national interagency research and development program for combating terrorism requirements at home and abroad. Products include a portable, transparent shield for protection from ballistic attack. The shield incorporates gas springs for quick erection of the ballistic glass panel and large wheels for easy deployment of the shield. Aesthetic considerations were also important to the success and acceptance of the shield.
A novel instantaneous personnel protection system was also developed for the TSWG and patented by Protection Engineering Consultants engineers then at Southwest Research Institute. When this device is activated, an airbag of ballistic-resistant material is accelerated upwards by gas generators, for a near-instantaneous deployment. The device is triggered by sensors when a bullet is detected.
System integration and application of sensors
for threat monitoring
Protection Engineering Consultants personnel have led several system integration efforts to develop novel security and sensor packages for VIP protection. One such system was for portable, rapid deployment in hotels and condos when used as temporary VIP residences. The multi-faceted effort included the development of management software, an encrypted Wi-Fi network of devices, a customized RF sensor package, a monitoring web site, and various hardware integration tasks.
Another effort produced a novel vehicle anti-tamper system for VIP protection in hostile overseas environments. The system is embedded in up-armored vehicles and alerts the user of high-risk activity during absences, such as attempts to plant explosives or tracking devices on the vehicle. The effort included tasks ranging from development of electromechanical devices, unobtrusive camera enclosures, a power system and novel thermal motion sensors to circuit design/construction and sensor processing algorithms.
View details for both of these products at the TSWG web site.