Everything about G-suit totally explained
A
g-suit is worn by
aviators and
astronauts who are subject to high levels of acceleration ('
g'). It is designed to prevent a black-out and
g-LOC (
g-induced Loss Of Consciousness), due to the blood pooling in the lower part of the body when under
g, thus depriving the brain of blood.
Operation
A
g-suit doesn't so much increase the g-threshold, but makes it possible to sustain high g longer without excessive physical fatigue. Pilots still need to practice the 'g-straining maneuver' that consists of tensing the abdominal muscles in order to tighten blood vessels so as to reduce blood pooling in the lower body. High
g isn't comfortable, even with a
g-suit. In older
fighter aircraft, 6
g was considered high, but with modern fighters 9 or even 10
g can be sustained aerodynamically making the pilot the critical factor in maintaining high maneuverability in
close combat.
Design
A
'g Suit' is a special garment and generally takes the form of tightly-fitting trousers, which fit either under or over (depending on the design) the flying suit worn by the aviator or astronaut. The trousers are fitted with inflatable bladders which, when pressurized through a g-sensitive valve in the aircraft or spacecraft, press firmly on the abdomen and legs, thus restricting the draining of blood away from the brain during periods of high acceleration. In addition, in some modern very high-g aircraft, the Anti-g suit effect is augmented by a small amount of pressure applied to the lungs (partial pressure breathing), which also enhances resistance to high g. The effects of Anti-g suits and partial pressure breathing are straightforward to replicate in a simulator, although the continuous g forces themselves can only be produced artificially in devices such as
centrifuges.
Various designs of
g-suit have been developed. They first used water-filled bladders around the lower body and legs. Later designs used air under pressure to inflate the bladders. These
g-suits were lighter than the fluid-filled versions and are still in extensive use. However, the
Swiss company
Life Support Systems AG and the
German Autoflug GmbH collaborated to design the new Libelle suit for use with the
Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft, which reverts to liquid as the medium and improves on performance. The Libelle suit is under consideration for adoption by the
United States Air Force.
If blood is allowed to pool in the lower areas of the body, the brain will be deprived of blood leading to temporary
hypoxia. Hypoxia causes first a
brownout (a dimming of the vision), also called
grey-out, followed by tunnel-vision and ultimately a
blackout (unconsciousness), that's
g-induced Loss of Consciousness or 'g-LOC'. The danger of
g-LOC to aircraft pilots is magnified because on relaxation of
g there's a period of disorientation before full sensation is re-gained.
Need for training
G-force induced hypoxia has resulted in a number of fatalities in which the aircraft and crew are lost. There is a need for high-
g training and this can be accomplished in a man-rated centrifuge training system. Such systems are made by
AMST Systemtechnik in
Austria (Austria Metall SystemTechnik), the
Environmental Tectonics Corporation (ETC) and in the
USA.
History
As early as 1917, there were documented cases of
loss of consciousness due to g-forces in pilots.
In 1931 a Professor of Physiology from the
University of Sydney described a new way of determining the
center of gravity of the human body. This made it possible to describe the displacement of mass within the body under acceleration.
With the development of high-speed monoplane fighters in the late 1930s,
g-effects in combat became more critical. In the
Battle of Britain in 1940, some German aircraft had foot-rests above the rudder pedals so that the pilot's feet and legs could be raised during combat, in which large use of the rudder was often not necessary but turning inside the opponent, was.
The Franks g-Suit
The first
g-suit was developed by a team led by
Wilbur R. Franks at the
University of Toronto's Banting and Best Institute in 1941. This used water filled bladders around the legs and two Marks were developed:
The Franks Mark II was for the USAF and RCAF). U.S. pilots tested it during 1944, but found the water system uncomfortable and were issued an air-inflatable design known as the Berger suit from September 1944.
During the 1939-45 war the German Henschel Hs 132 jet and US XP-79 Flying Ram both had prone positions to minimize blood pooling in the legs.
After the 1939-45 war, the British experimented with prone flying positions on a highly modified Gloster Meteor F8 fighter.
However, other difficulties associated with prone piloting and the development of a practical g-suit for a normal seating position terminated the experiments.
Air-based g-suits were very common in NATO aircraft of all nations from the 1950s onwards and are still in common use today.
Later jets such as the BAe Hawk, F-16 Falcon, F-18 Hornet, Eurofighter Typhoon and the Dassault Rafale can sustain high-g for longer periods, and are therefore more physically demanding. However, by using a modern g-suit a pilot can now be expected to sustain flight forces of up to 9 g without blacking out.
Astronauts wear similar g-suits to aviators but face different challenges due to the effects of microgravity. Aviator g-suits apply uniform pressure to the lower legs to minimize the effects of high acceleration but research from the Canadian Space Agency implies there might be a benefit in having a suit for astronauts that uses a "milking action" to increase blood flow to the upper body.
Further Information
Get more info on 'G-suit'.
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