Lightweight Structures for Roadside Blast Protection

Agilenano™, the University of California San Diego, DuPont® and GENTEX® Corporation propose a Phase I demonstration of a volumetric and mass-efficient armor system having an areal density less than 10 lbs/ft2 which reduces blast energy transmitted to the crew compartment from a STANAG 4569 Level 1 grenade or mine blast by at least 30%. Our team will design and manufacture 2''x2'' armor panels, develop and conduct quantitative explosive blast test methods, and measure V50 performance versus 0.30-cal. FSP and 0.30-cal. APM2. Our proposed armor is structured around AgileZorb™ a revolutionary nanotechnology-based blast energy absorbing material recently shown by the Navy to reduce transmitted blast pressures by 75% to 95% and to be orders of magnitude faster than conventional materials. The remainder of the structure consists of high hardness steel, flame resistant Kevlar®, and Nomex® honeycomb filled with the AgileZorb. The steel begins fragmenting the projectiles and protects against environmental elements. The Kevlar® layers provide spall and additional fragment and projectile barriers in addition to excellent flame resistance. The combined layers provide protection against the primary shock front (a primary cause of Traumatic Brain and Blast Lung injury), the tertiary blast wind and ballistic penetration.