Computer-Aided Techniques for Survivability/Lethality Modeling

Abstract : The vulnerability of a combat system is an assessment of its susceptibility to damage, given a specific encounter with a particular threat. By contrast, system survivability can be taken to be the examination of all performance parameters which affect its availability to perform an assigned mission. Thus survivability subsumes vulnerability with the addition of many other factors. Some of the system parameters contributing to survivability are: Mobility; Agility; NBC Protection; Detection Probabilities: Magnetic; Acoustic; Optical; Infrared; and Centimeter waves/millimeter waves; and Conventional Vulnerability. The theme of this Symposium is The Total System Approach to Combat Survivability. Such an approach, therefore, requires a broad set of analytic tools which permit a system to be analyzed from many aspects with a consistent set of inputs. The aim of this paper is to describe a high-resolution modeling environment which supports the symposium theme; this environment is being rapidly expanded and is characterized by the following major features: 1) A powerful geometric modeling environment; 2) A set of flexible routines for geometric interrogation; 3) A set of analytic modules which extend across many of the disciplines which are a theme of this conference; 4) A link to Finite Element Mesh (FEM) generation; and 5) Support of above tools in a consistent, portable UNIX environment. (KR)