HIGH PERFORMANCE, FIRE RESISTANT HYBRIDSIL SEAT CUSHION PADDING FOR NEXT-GENERATION ARMY SEAT SYSTEMS

Through the proposed Army SBIR program, NanoSonic will empirically validate and rapidly transition next- generation vibration and pressuring reducing viscoelastic HybridSil seat cushions for improved soldier health, safety, and comfort. Working with Jankel, an industry leader in military seating that has sold more than 70,000 seats worldwide, NanoSonic will employ a rigorous design of experiments that will enable the correlation and combinatorial optimization of the molecular composition, physical properties, and bulk morphology of its viscoelastic HybridSil foams to produce game-changing seat cushion padding that provides a previously unavailable combination of vibration isolation, pressure distribution, and blast protection. Direct comparative analysis demonstrating the value proposition of HybridSil seat cushion padding over legacy systems will be completed by Jankel team members through pressure distribution mapping, MAST vibration transmission analysis, and drop tower testing. NanoSonics seat cushion padding will be tailored to meet the objective weight requirement and have immediate utility as a replacement cushion or component in a new seat design. This program will build from NanoSonics innovative energy absorbing, fire resistant HybridSil materials that have independently validated ballistic / blast durability in excess of polyureas, transition to flexible insulating silicate networks at elevated temperatures, and a health rating of zero.