Aerogel Augmented Thermal Protection for Divers' Hands

A diver's ability to perform dexterity work is greatly diminished in long duration missions if his hands are cold. Research has demonstrated that protecting a diver’s torso, arms, and legs in cold water diving without simultaneously providing adequate thermal protection to the hands proves futile in maintaining an adequate core body temperature in long duration cold water dives. In extremely cold water diving conventional foam neoprene glove are inadequate for protecting the diver and enabling his mission. These gloves have poor thermal performance, are bulky, buoyant, inhibit dexterity and tactile sensitivity, and are difficult to maintain waterproof. The proposed study will develop a multifunctional passive thermal protection solution for diver’s hands featuring augmented aerogel with impressive thermal performance. Using a new infiltration process, Aspen will transform conventionally engineered liners into augmented aerogel super insulating gloves with outstanding dexterity and durability. Phase II will continue refining the work on the superinsulating flexible glove and will provide development on the system design for additional thermal protection and hand warm-up.