Application of Finite Element Modeling and Analysis to the Design of Positive Pressure Oxygen Masks

This study investigated tools and techniques for performing finite element analysis of the MBU-20P pilots oxygen mask. The problem which was investigated was the fit of the mask to the face at Positive Pressure Breathing PPB pressures. Deformed geometry of the mask and reaction forces on the face were calculated to provide a measure of the fit. The MBU-20P mask was first digitized by 3-D digitizer. A computer program was written to translate the digitized coordinate data to a finite element format for two commercial packages. The packages targeted were SDRC I-DEAS and PDA PATRAN. Other supplementary programs were written to perform some functions which would have been difficult to accomplish within the commercial codes. The tools and techniques developed are applicable to a wide class of problems, beyond the specific application to the oxygen mask analysis. They provide a capability to rapidly develop finite element models from existing prototypes for redesign, detailed analysis, or reverse engineering.