Development of an Improved SPH-4 Retention Assembly

摘要

Impact protection during a crash is one of the primary functions of a flighthelmet. In order for the helmet to provide effective impact protection, the helmet must remain firmly secured on the head for the entire duration of the crash sequence. If the helmet is displaced on the head or comes off during the crash sequence, cranial exposure and subsequent head injury can occur. Previous research at USAARL has shown the retention assembly of the SPH-4 flight helmet often allows excessive helmet rotation or even helmet loss to occur during a crash. This report describes the construction and testing of a new SPH-4 retention assembly, the USAARL yoke harness, which will alleviate the helmet rotation/helmet loss problem. The load versus elongation under load and comfort of the USAARL yoke harness was compared to that of the currently used standard retention harness. The USAARL yoke harness was stronger, and stretched less under load than the standard retention harness. Comfort testing of the USAARL yoke harness showed the majority (72 percent) of those questioned preferred the USAARL yoke harness over the standard harness. Keywords: Impact protection, Helmet, Yoke harness, Retention harness, Retention assembly. (sdw)