Structural Blast Energy Absorber

Light, maneuverable, fast and fully protected vehicles are needed on today''s battlefields. In a field of operations, US military vehicles often encounter landmines, improvised explosive devises (IEDs), and other explosive threats towards the underside and sides of the vehicle. These threats, unfortunately, can contribute to warfighter casualties. Military vehicles, therefore, require adequate protection in these activities. Current technologies do not afford the exceptional level of blast protection that the Navy desires. Steel armor plates are inexpensive, but extremely heavy, adding thousands of pounds to light vehicles. The extra load makes the vehicles heavy, difficult to maneuver and difficult to transport by sea or airlift. The extra weight also wears heavily on these vehicles, causing premature engine and transmission failures, as well as suspension and brake problems. The desired solution must provide structural load support and mitigate the blast energy, while at the same time contribute less weight and/or space to the vehicle. In Phase I CRG will demonstrate the technical feasibility of a high-performance, light-weight structural blast energy absorber made from CRG’s blast-resistant materials. The effort will design and test the structural blast energy absorber and develop processing techniques to fabricate the proof-of-concept device.