HIGHLY FLAME RESISTANT HYBRIDSIL ENERGY ABSORPTION TRIM MATERIALS FOR USE WITHIN MILITARY VEHICLE INTERIORS

A Phase II SBIR transition of NanoSonics highly flame resistant HybridSil energy absorbing (EA) trim materials will provide a pivotal funding bridge toward Phase III maturation of this very promising, empirically validated vehicle occupant protection technology. NanoSonics HybridSil trim materials will provide next-generation occupant impact safety during blast, crash, and rollover events while also affording extreme fire resistance and negligible smoke toxicity. Building from a highly successful Phase I program in which optimized HybridSil trim materials afforded HIC (d) values of 337 and exceptional ASTM E1354 fire resistance performance, NanoSonic will implement an aggressive 24-month Phase II SBIR research program to produce pioneering, highly flame resistant HybridSil EA trim kits that exceed TARDECs HIC(d), FST, and durability specification performance requirements while maintaining cost-effective manufacturing scalability necessary for a graceful Phase III transition into military and commercial vehicles. In support of near term Phase III integration within a broad spectrum of military vehicles, NanoSonic has teamed up with Jankel, an industry leader in the armored vehicle and personal protection industry, as its technology integrator to establish streamlined, cost-effective procedures for outfitting TARDEC approved military vehicles with Phase II optimized, commercially scalable HybridSil EA trim parts.