Drop Tower and Pendulum Facilities at the Zablocki VA Medical Center
The Drop Tower and Pendulum Facilities house three drop towers and multiple pendulums for use in under-vehicle blast acceleration and helmet impact testing.
Facility Equipment
Data Capture
Data Capture
Data in this facility is captured using several high-speed video cameras and digital data-acquisition systems capable of high-throughput data capture.
Drop Towers
Drop Towers
Two seven-meter-high drop towers are used to simulate under-vehicle blast accelerations to component systems using a custom-designed lever-arm mechanism and reaction tower decelerator. There is also a helmet testing drop tower that accommodates six-meter-per-second impacts.
Pendulums
Pendulums
Pendulums include a six-wire swinging mass pendulum that accommodates various mass sizes and a rigid-arm pendulum, both of which accomplish a ten-meter-per-second impact. Another custom-designed rigid-arm pendulum is used for various helmet impact testing, including football and military helmet evaluations.