The task of demining is highly dangerous. Deminers and humanitarian workers are at risk to injury every time they step onto a minefield. Jiri Chladek and the Zeman Company have developed a special boot to reduce risks incurred when stepping on landmines

Chladek, Jiri

English

James Madison University

Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction Volume 6 Issue 2 The Journal of Mine Action Article 33 August 2002 Mine Resistant Boots Jiri Chladek Follow this and additional works at: https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/cisr-journal  Part of the Defense and Security Studies Commons, Emergency and Disaster Management Commons, Other Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration Commons, and the Peace and Conflict Studies Commons Recommended Citation Chladek, Jiri (2002) "Mine Resistant Boots," Journal of Mine Action : Vol. 6 : Iss. 2 , Article 33. Available at: https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/cisr-journal/vol6/iss2/33 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Center for International Stabilization and Recovery at JMU Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction by an authorized editor of JMU Scholarly Commons. For more information, please contact dc_admin@jmu.edu. • (Left to Right) Prototypes of armours prepared for testing. Steel leg second generation. Boots w ith steel leg second generation filled by silicone rubber. Mine Resistant Boots The task of demining is highly dangerous. Deminers and humanitarian workers are at risk to injury every time they step onto a minefield. Jiri Chladek and the Zeman Company have developed a special boot to reduce risks incurred when stepping on landmines. by Jiri Chladek, M.Sc.,Dr., Independent Advisor & Expert in Explosives Each war brings killing. To kill the enemy, machine guns, cannons, ranks ... and also landmines can be used. When the war finishes, soldiers return home, tanks go away and only landmines-rhese small hidden killers remain. They are sleeping in the so il and waiting for their own vic-rim. They are sleeping in the soil and waiting for 10, 20, 30 or 50 years. They are waiting on some body's last step ... During the war killing is casual. It is terrible, but killing soldiers during the war is casual. Why do the landmines kill civilians, children or farmers 20, 30 or 50 years after the war? Why? Because there are over I 00 million landmines scat-cered in 60 countries in the world. There-fore the Zeman Company starred their own development of protective boots. Already different technologies for mine and UXO locating exist and new methods and technologies are likely to be developed in the near and fast fuwre. But during different demin ing opera-tions, a deminer must walk across suspi-cious areas, as well as many humanitarian workers and al l who remedy former battlefields. For all of these people we prepare "Blast Protective" or "M ine Re-sistant Boors." Independent Development Dr. Chladek's Independent Development Dr. Chladek began work geared at solving the problem offoor protection in 1997. First, he collected different mate-rials appropriate for amour construction and then prepared a number of different flexible arm ours. The armours differed in material, number and thickness of lay-ers, and technology of layer connection. Each sample was rhen rested by ex-plosion. As resting charges were used, boosters were made from TNT; PETN and Semrex. In accordance with the re-sults of previous steps, new test samples were obtained and a sole was made. Af-ter successful trials with different explo-sive charges, there appeared a clear re-quest: co-operation with a boor producer is necessary. It was necessary to know which material and which technology can be used for resistant boors production. • 78 • ZEMAN Shoe Ltd. 's Independent Development In I 998 Zeman Shoe Ltd. also starred R & D work concerning mine resistant boors. During rhe preliminary stages they used available information from abroad and experience from rests carried out in rhe United States. Zeman Shoe Ltd. based their development on a sole with a special shape that contained an aluminum insert for moving explosion gases away from the boot. A final protOtype was prepared for tests in spring 1999. These rests showed that their direction in R & D blast resis-tant boors was nor successful. T he boors did nor have the required protection level. During rhe rests they also obtained some interesting findings: • Sole shape is nor so important and it has minor effects on protection level. • Boor construction must not con-rain any metallic parts. • It is necessary to find appropriate testing methods (there are no interna-tional standards). After the rests, the company found it necessary ro find an expert experienced in explosives and explosive protection. Representatives of Zeman Shoe Ltd. mer with Dr. C hladek, independent expert in explosives, at the exhibition ID ET 99 and a new era in R & D of blast protective boors successfully began. WOODEN BOX Joint Research Be Development so kg Mine Resistant Boots • Test position. Boots (lTC). Tests results showed chat the rest boots meet the requirements of the CSN EN 344- 1 and CSN EN 347-1 standards. Very optimistic results con-cerning a sole puncrure resistance in value 2958 N (standard required min . II OON) were also obtained. Derails are available in Final Report No. 72330219/2001. Both sides first mer during an Inter- Testing The final tests were undertaken in the resting facility of the Deparrmem of Theory and Technology of Explosives at the University in Pardubice. Tested boots were fitted to a measuring device of its own construction and equipped by an ac-celerometer. The weight of one person was simulated by a 65 kg weight situated inro the basket. national Exhibition of Defense Technol-ogy (IDET 99) in May 1999 in Brno, Czech Republic. At the start, they were given basic requirements for the final product: • Boors should be appropriate for all-clay wearing, • Must be resistant against AP mines and/or unexploded ordnance like sub-munitions and related items containing at least 35g HE, • Must be designed for all people who must walk across dangerous areas, especially the wide range of humanitar-ian workers as well as for de-miners. During R & D work each material and technology was rested by explosions of different charges. It The main problem concerning rest-ing is rhe lack of international standards. During rhe preliminary period each sample was loaded by a wooden box filled with sand and soil with a total mass around 50 kg. Later a few different steel legs were used, but the results showed that these tests did not meet rhe R & D re-qui rements. Useful results were obtained when "wooden man " (b lock of wood) with a mass of around 65 kg was used. Trials with charges exploded in front of rhe boots simulated a situation when the user kicks the unexploded ordnance. The boots were independently tested at the Institute for Testing and Certification of During tests, researchers placed a testing charge under the heel in contact with the sole. The AP mines were simu-lated by a plastic ring, 4 5 mm in diameter, filled by 25, 35 or 50 g of plasric explosive Semtex. They also carried out tests using a charge buried rwo em in the soil (*). Result of Co-operation The combined efforts ofJiri Chladek and Zeman Shoe Ltd. were able to inrro-was necessary to find Table I. Result of tests new technologies and ~MPLE also new materials ap- Ordinary combat boots propriate for resistant Zeman AM boot production. Spe- Zeman AM cia] attention was given Zeman AM to the main pans of rhe Zeman AM boors: sole, toecap and CHARGE 25g 25g 35g 50g 25g* • 79 • COMMENTS fatal destruction of boot and leg- AMPUTATION! damaged heel damaged heel and part of sole heavily damaged heel, inner port of boot OK minor damage of heel • (Left to Right) Sample weighted by"wooden man." Boot and charge of Semtex prepare for test. Measuring equipment. Boot prepared for test. 1Chladek: Mine Resistant BootsPublished by JMU Scholarly Commons, 2002• Boots before explosion and after explosion. duce a product called "Mine Resistant Boots," model Zeman AM (Anti-Mine) offering resistance against AP mine ex-plosions and unexploded ordnance with a charge around 50g HE. The boors are characterized by a robust and resistant design with long-term service life. They do not contain any metallic parts. Technical Specification and Description of Mine Resistant Boots T he "Mine Resistant Boors" model Zeman AM are a special all-leather boot with protection against explosion of AP contact mines and related UXO items with a charge around 50 g of high explo-sive. The boots can be provided with Sympatex lining, which ensures I 00 per-cent waterproof protection while keep-ing comfort by letting perspiration out of the boor. Boot Description: • Upper material grain leather, hy-drophobic, smooth, thickness of2.0-2.2 mm • Leather counter • Double thermal roe puff • Special lasting insole from ballistic material of rhe thickness of7 mm • Bottom design with use of sewn through technology • Special rubber sole with the thick-ness of20 mm combined with bal-listic material while preserving suf-ficient flexibility • Closed tongue • Leather collar bandage • Sock lining absorbing treading energy in toe • Lacing: 4 eyelets 5 passes through • Thread stitching I 000 • Black color • Boor height: 30 em • Weight: only 2980 g per pair • Sizes: 6- 12 Protection The Mine resistant (Blast Protective) boor model ZEMAN AM offers a few levels of protection. 1st Level-Multi-Layer Armour in Sole The sole contains a special multi-layer ballistic armour. When excessive pressure (energy of explosion) is exerted on the armour, part of the energy is re-flected back from the armour, part is con-sumed by programmable destruction pre-pared layers, part flows around rhe boors to surrounding space and only a small part of rhe energy goes through the multi-layer armour and hits the inner armour. 2nd Level-Inner Armour The inner armour is situated inside the boots, around the lower leg. This re-duces an effect of overpressure entering through the multi-layer armour (from sole) as well as overpressure and fragments incoming from rhe surrounding area. Special attention was given to the devel-opment of a heel sear and roe cup. Trials with charges exploded in front of the boots simulated a situation when a user kicks at unexploded ordnance. The hu-man body received only a small part of the energy entering through the multi-layer armour because the inner armour reduces it. 3rd Level-Ballistic Protection All-leather pares of the boots are reinforced by ballis-tic material. It ensures ballistic protection against fragments (mine bodies, soil, stones) ac-celerated by explosion or other flying particles. 4th Level-Anti-• 80 • Perforation Protection Special construction of rhe sole ensures 250 percent anti-per-foration according to the require-ments ofEU standards. It protects 2- 5 times more than special safety shoes containing usually steel anti-perforation inserts. 5th Level-Tread Energy Protection Special construction of heel and ana-tomic replaceable innersoles absorb tread energy in the heel seat. • References j. CHLADEK, Research & Development of Mine resistant Shoes, Report, 1998 J. CHLADEK, Czech Mine Boot Develop-ment, lecture on annual conference, World EOD Foundation, Sandown Park Conference C entre, UK, 1999 J.Strnad, J. Majznk, Determination of res is-tance level of Blast Protective Boors mod. Zeman AM, Un iversicy of Pardubicc, Dept. ofTheory and Tech no logy of Explosives, 200 I lTC Zlin, Final Report No. 723302 19/2001 ~All photos courtesy of the author. Contact Information Jiri Chladek, M.Sc.,Dr. Independent Advisor & Expert in Explosives Sulova 1247, 156 00 Praha 5 Z braslav, Czech E-mail: chladekmail@seznam.cz Libor Zeman, M.Sc., Mr. Peter Zeman Ms.Jvear Zemanova ZEMAN Shoe Ltd. 765 02 Orrokovice, Czech E-mail: zemanl@zeman.cz • zemanAM-Biast Protective Boots. The Landmine Menace The Landmine Menace: The Great Humanitarian Challenge On the basis ofthe conflict scenarios and the resultant threat, it is necessary to develop methods and means to eliminate the threat. Simply using available tools is not always easy. What is necessary is to optimally combine existing detection and clearance methods and, if necessary, to develop new, promising technologies in a targeted manner. by Thomas Himmler, lnstitut Dr. Forster Introduction Lien Ta had just started to repair the irrigation ditch in his field when an ex-plosion shattered the tranquility of the early morning. One small step on the wrong spot wiped our the life of this farmer. A family lost a member of its com-munity and children lost their f:1.ther and the security of their existence. Regardless of whether a farmer tills his field in Yiernam, a woman in Angola fetches drinking water from a well orchil-dren in Bosnia go ro school , they should all be able to do rhis on safe ground and on safe footpaths. Bur rhis is far from rhe case. Even years after conflicts and wars have almost disappeared into oblivion, the menace from landmines and UXO in these areas is extreme. The United Nations is aware of over GO affected countries in which the civil-ian population is still constanrly threat-ened by hidden mines. Estimates extend from 60 ro over 100 million mines laid during rimes of war and con flier. In many areas, rhe number of items of UXO still substantially exceeds the number of mines. Besides the resultant personal threat to the individual, this also blocks traffic routes on land and water. Urban areas are considered risky and unsafe, and valuable agricultural land necessarily lies fallow. Reconstruction of any kind and the ere-arion of viral structures are delayed or pre-vented ro an unacceptable exrenr. It is only an immediate and targeted solution to the problem that can provide a quick remedy and make a contriburion to the urgently required restoration of a si tua-cion in which the public can live their lives safely in former conflict areas. Detection We must first fundamentally differ-entiate between surface and near-surface threats and the threat posed by UXO, frequenrly at great depth. The criterion of clear and, rhus, reliable signal indica-tion has absolute priority. In addition, other essential deciding factors include how easy the method is to apply and irs efficiency and economy in use. Near-Surface Detection In rhe majority of cases, metal de-tectors based on eddy-current technolo-gies are used for near-surface detection today. Regardless of whether they are handheld, individual sensors or large-area systems, which are sometimes designed with several channels in the form of sen-sor arrays, the technological fundam en-tals are very largely the same and have been tried and rested for many years now. Attempts have been made to solve rhe problem of the high alarm rate and the non-derectabilityof non-metallic ord-nance associated with this technique by opting for a combination with comple-mentary sensor systems. Essential aspects in this case are the incorporation of "metal-independent " methods, such as ground penetrating radar (GPR), and infrared (IR) sensors. Material-analytical methods such as rhe Nuclear Quadropole Resonance (NQR) method complement the range of methods that can be used. On the one hand, all new methods must meet the extreme requirements of the task at hand; on the other, they must • 81 • complywith the economy/efficiency aspects. Practical use frequently fails owing to rheas yet inadequate ease of handling of rhese methods, the technical complex-ity and expenditure involved, which are still too great and, in some cases, the ex-treme requirements applicable to user qualification. Ongoing development projects, such as the research activities launched within rhe framework of rhe Euwpean Union's European Strategic Programme for Research and Development in [nformation Technology (ESPRIT), do indicate, however, that it is possible to reduce the existing handicaps. In small steps, we are approaching the target of practical suitability, a race against rime rhat we must win. This is certainly no easy undertaking if we consider rhe strin-gent requirements placed on use in the field. Where are the Problems? Well, minefields may be laid any-where; not only level and easily accessible areas may be mined, bur also slopes, road embankments, wooded areas, desert ar-eas or beach areas, even front yards. One other factor is extreme infestation with extraneous objects that must be clearly detected. In addition, many of rhe areas are covered by vegetation that grows back consranrly or are subject to constant change as rhe result of erosion or floods. The detection tasks required will largely be performed by metal detectors until the above-menrioned methods and method combinations are advanced enough ro a stage ar which they can be introduced on a large scale. Here as well , further ad-vances have been made in recent years. The ex isting Conti nuous Wave (CW) and Pulse metal detectors in use worldwide have undergone substantial development. They are rhus sti ll the method that most widely covers the lis red requirements of practical use. In regards to the metal detectors, we shall explicitly illustrate further develop-ment by way of example of rhe Minex 2Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction, Vol. 6, Iss. 2 [2002], Art. 33https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/cisr-journal/vol6/iss2/33

Mine Resistant Boots

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Mine Resistant Boots

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