PRE-EJECTION UPPER TORSO RETRACTION FOR THE EXPANDED AIRCREW POPULATION

摘要

The current U.S. Air Force standard for ballistic powered inertia reels requires occupant repositioning prior to ejection to be complete in under 300 milliseconds. Past laboratory research has shown that medium and large stature male subjects can safely tolerate upper torso retraction in approximately 150 milliseconds. With the recent expansion of the aircrew population to include a wider range of anthropometry, both male and female, further investigation of the retraction time requirement is required to address accommodation and safety issues. Demonstrating faster retraction times with a diverse, mixed-gender subject panel will validate current inertia reel performance specifications for the entire aircrew population, and provide baseline criteria for future retraction tests. A series of upper torso retractions was performed at the Biodynamics and Acceleration Branch of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) using instrumented human volunteers on the Body Positioning and Retraction Device (BPRD). Retraction distance varied from 10 to 14 inches. Large and small manikins were tested initially to verify the operating parameters of the BPRD, and to ensure that the human volunteers would not be exposed to any potentially injurious forces. The makeup of the subject panel included males and females representative of the expanded stature and weight range of the current aircrew population. Retraction times were demonstrated in under 200 milliseconds at maximum retraction distance without injury to any of the volunteers.