Assessment of HGU-56/P Aircrew Integrated Helmet System (AIHS) Blunt Impact Protection after Liner Modifications
Abstract
The U.S. Army's HGU-56/P AIHS performance standard was developed after a series of reviews of U.S. Army rotary-wing mishaps showed that aircrew lives were being lost to head injury in otherwise survivable accidents. Such cases included basilar skull fractures from both lateral and crown impacts, other skull fractures, intracranial hemorrhage, and concussions. The standard requires a helmet to be impacted at 4.9 mps for crown impacts and 6.0 mps for all other impact sites. Pass-fail headform acceleration thresholds of 150Gfor crown and lateral impacts and 175G for impacts to all other regions of the helmet. Particular attention is paid to lateral impact performance to minimize the risk of basilar skull fracture, which was prevalent with older helmet designs. Currently, the HGU-56/PAIHS, initially fielded in 1995, and its variants, the HGU-56/P Apache Aircrew Integrated Helmet (AAIH) and the HGU-56/P RWH, are the only helmets to meet the AIHS performance standard. The HGU-56/P AIHS is currently in service with the U.S. Army, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. The HGU-56/P AAIH is a platform specific variant of the HGU-56/P AIHS and is worn by pilots of the AH-64E. The HGU-56/P RWH is incrementally replacing the HGU-56/P AIHS in the U.S. Army.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 02, 2020
- Accession Number
- AD1099142
Entities
People
- Frederick T. Brozoski
- Greg A. Ganz
- Jodi A. Gomez
- Katie P. Logsdon
- Shelby N. Sous
Organizations
- United States Army Aeromedical Research Lab