An Easier Approach to Measuring Optical Distortion in Transparent Armor

Optical distortion measurements for transparent armor (TA) solutions are critical to ensure occupants can see what is happening outside a vehicle. Unfortunately, optically transparent materials often have poorer mechanical properties than their opaque counterparts which usually results in much thicker layups to provide the same level of protection. Current standards still call for the use of a double exposure method to manually compare the distortion of grid lines. This report presents provides a similar method of analysis with less user input using items typically available in many mechanics labs: machine vision cameras and digital image correlation software.

Citation: J. M. Gorman, “An Easier Approach to Measuring Optical Distortion in Transparent Armor”, In Proceedings of the Ground Vehicle Systems Engineering and Technology Symposium (GVSETS), NDIA, Novi, MI, Aug. 11-13, 2020.

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