Light-weight, Low-Cost Fire Barrier

The primary technical objective of this SBIR is to develop a system that will reduce the weight of high-temperature fire insulation systems from 1.3 lbs/ft2 to 1.0 lb/ft2 and reduce the cost of all insulation systems for N-30 class steel divisions including fire-thermal and fire-acoustic systems. The newer Navy vessels under construction, like LCS, or design, like DDG-51, would benefit from the lighter weight and lower fuel costs which would result from an improved lightweight insulation system. Phase II plans include moving forward developing an insulation system using the FireMaster Marine and FireMaster Marine Plus materials from Thermal Ceramics. Once developed, amorphous fiber blanket material by Unifrax Corporation will be investigated as a second fiber material source. In small scale testing, the amorphous fibers manufactured by Thermal Ceramics will be used in conjunction with layers of new materials. For the deck design the weight threshold is less than 1.3 lbs/ft2 with a goal of 1.0 lb/ft2. For the bulkhead design the weight threshold is less than 1 lb/ft2 with a goal of 0.7 lb/ft2. Any applicable guidance drawings will be updated to include the insulation systems developed in Phase II of this SBIR. Using the same process as for steel, an insulation system for N-30 Aluminum bulkhead and deck divisions will be developed. Fire testing will be conducted at both Intertek ETL SEMKO in Elmendorf, Texas and at Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas. All tests required in Phase II shall be approved by the TPOC prior to any purchase order being issued to a testing laboratory. The Principal Investigator will insure the TPOC is fully informed and in agreement with the test plans.