Innovative Armor Fastening Technology (s) for Tactical Vehicles of the Current and the Future Force

Electrically releasing adhesives are proposed as innovative fasteners for attaching modular armor to military vehicles. Bonds formed with these adhesives will provide durable, high strength (>2000 psi shear), mechanically robust attachments, that can be rapidly released, on-demand by the application of a low power current (10-50 volts d.c., <0.5 watts/square inch). Combination of these attachments with an internal spring mechanism results in the formation of a remote release device that can be used to pop-off individual tiles of armor when desired. The proposed fasten and release system is lightweight, inexpensive and highly conformable. It can be used to join a wide variety of dissimilar materials including metals, ceramics and polymer composites and it is readily adaptable to any size or shape of armor used. In the phase I, concepts for model armor tile release devices will be evaluated. These devices will allow rapid ejection of the tile from a remote location and rapid reattachment of replacements under field conditions. Novel electrically releasing adhesives will be formulated to meet these challenges. Bond strengths to various substrates will be measured and environmental durability will be assessed.