Darina Fišerová,2, Amer Hameed, Timothy A. Rose, John G. Hetherington and Stanislav Procházka
Within the mine-blast research community, there is an increasing desire to enhance the efficiency and efficacy of mine-resistant vehicles, albeit in a cost-effective way. An approach that mirrors this requirement is presented in this paper. The explosion of an antitank mine is modelled and analysed by using the non-linear dynamics analysis software, AUTODYN. The initial simulation setup consisted of a hemispherical charge laid on a ‘perfectly reflective’ plane. Two equations of state for explosive products were studied, with the first one being the commonly used empirical equation of state, Jones-Wilkins-Lee (JWL). The second study applied the ideal gas equation of state, often used for simplification in complicated models. The mesh sensitivity study was carried out. Two parameters of blast waves, namely maximum pressure and specific impulse, are evaluated and compared with accessible experimental data obtained from CONWEP. Consequently, an explosion of a mine laid on sand was modelled using JWL EOS and blast parameters were compared with the previous model.
John G. Hetherington
Full-scale testing of vehicles is notoriously difficult and expensive. Invariably only a small range of vehicle configurations and soil conditions can be explored and it is difficult to ensure consistency and uniformity of terrain. Scale-model testing may provide a more versatile and cost-effective method for exploring the behaviour of off-road vehicles. This paper describes some of the simple rules which have to be observed when modelling vehicle operations on soil and presents results from three case studies of scale-model tests on tracked vehicles and earth anchors carried out in soil bins at The Royal Military College of Science (RMCS) in the United Kingdom. The results are shown to correlate well with theoretical predictions of full-scale performance and with empirical predictions based on full-scale trials.
Charles M. StG. Kirke
New technologies have transformed the battlefield, and are continuing to do so. Command and control in particular is a fertile area for novel technologies. However, command systems consist of more than just technology and hardware. The other vital element is the human beings who are to operate the equipment, and the physiological, psychological, and social factors that they bring with them to the system. This paper provides an overview of one particular human factor, organizational culture. ‘Culture’ is defined, its influence in contexts of change is examined, and two new conceptual terms (‘cultural drag’ and ‘cultural precession’) are described. This is followed by the presentation of a model of British Army organizational culture, which is used to assess issues in the Army’s impending change to the new technologies comprising ‘network enabled capability (NEC)’. Potential difficulties are identified, as are stratagems likely to mitigate them. It is proposed that it is better to ride the organizational culture that exists, and cannot change rapidly, rather than to confront it with change that will challenge it. Whatever the ultimate intention, it can be confidently predicted that sensitivity to organizational culture is more likely to result in more successful use of novel capabilities than inattention to it.
Andrew W. Gill
MANA is a popular agent-based distillation (ABD), or low-resolution simulation, which has been used to explore a variety of defence operations. Movement of agents within the MANA ABD is based on a simple attraction-repulsion weighting system and an associated numerical penalty function. A recent paper by the author analysed this movement algorithm to find unexpected behaviour and suggested an alternative penalty function. This paper compares the two approaches on a dynamic, combative scenario. Appropriate parameter values for the proposed approach are derived and the effect of the movement algorithm on typical parametric studies is also investigated.
Sean E. Hynes and Neil C. Rowe
We present the design and implementation of a multi-agent simulation that models deployment and coverage of sensors performing collaborative target detection. The focus is on sensor networks with enough sensors that humans cannot individually manage each. Experiments evaluated both known and novel deployment algorithms, and considered effects of the sensor type, number of sensors deployed, presence of obstacles, and mobility of the sensors. A particular focus was barrier (traversal) coverage which has many military applications but which has been less studied than other sensor placement problems; experiments showed that good algorithms for it are different than those good for area monitoring. This work provides both useful data for guiding sensor deployment and a valuable testbed for planning of sensor networks.
Brendan Kellaway and Mark A. Richardson
This paper is the first in a series on laser technology. The focus is primarily the ground-based air defence (GBAD) scenario but is applicable to other ground, air and maritime environments. The purpose of the series of three papers is to investigate a viable technique which may be used for the identification of ground-based air defence targets. Part 1 introduces and describes areas of laser technology that are common-place on the modern battlefield. It also introduces some more recent developments and their applications which are discussed in greater detail in the subsequent parts. Part 2 then discusses laser safety, factors affecting laser performance and LADAR. The calculations in Part 2 demonstrate LADARs potential as a long-range (>10 km), 24-hour, all-weather imaging capability. Part 3 examines burst illumination laser (BIL), which is the chosen technique for the GBAD target-identification problem. A method of calculating BIL performance is shown and the results from the authors’ calculation tool are presented.
Kurt K. Benke
Prediction of the operational performance of a forward-looking infrared (FLIR) system requires a computer model accounting for the principal variables affecting classification range. The range performance is degraded by many factors, including sensor resolution, atmospheric attenuation, platform vibration and visual display information. The Tenix FLIR_P Performance Model was developed to estimate the classification range of an electro-optic sensor, and provides comparative performance estimates for different system configurations and operational conditions. Results are presented for classification range prediction and its variation with absolute humidity in the 3-5 m infrared band as used in some airborne thermal imaging systems.
