Model-Based Design of Test Systems for Chemical Protective Clothing

The current methodology for testing the penetration resistance of textile materials to various chemical agents has a number of drawbacks, including significant uncertainties in the resulting data, inefficiency and expense, risk to test personnel, and limited range of test conditions. The objective of the proposed work is to apply unique computer models for textiles with accompanying experimental validation to develop a new system for testing of material swatches in conjunction with the Chemical Biological Agent Resistance Test (CBART) program. In Phase I, all objectives were met or exceeded by designing an innovative system and demonstrating key features experimentally. During Phase II, a model-based design approach will be used to produce an optimized design that will be validated by construction and testing a prototype. Optional tasks focus on understanding the relationship between swatch data and toxicological and clothing system performance.