Attack deterrent and ballistic-resistant substation component protection system using STF-Armor materials

There are over 55,000 electrical distribution substations in the United States. These substations are a critical part of power distribution infrastructure, yet the security of these substations is not sufficient to prevent malicious actors from attempting to interrupt power supply. There have been a number of documented incidents of attacks with firearms on transformer equipment at substations that have caused significant power outages and risk to life. There is a critical need to upgrade the level of security of power transmission equipment, including new material solutions for deterring and protecting against ballistic attack. We propose a lightweight, small-volume ballistic protective material that can be used to harden electrical substations against ballistic attack with increased performance and/or reduced cost vs. conventional materials. Our proposed Phase I effort leverages our company’s expertise in lightweight, high-ballistic resistance materials consisting of textiles treated with shear thickening fluid (STF). These so-called STF-Armor materials have been shown to offer 4x higher ballistic impact energy absorption as compared to the same textiles without STF. When integrated with conventional fiberglass/epoxy materials, the resulting STF Energy Absorbing Layer (SEAL)- composites exhibit over 4x the impact resistance vs. a fiberglass composite of the same thickness. Further, STF-Armor has higher resistance to oblique angle shots and impacts near panel edges that will allow the ballistic SEAL-composites to be used in smaller form factor and/or tailored geometry to protect key subcomponents. The higher energy absorbing capacity of STF-enhanced materials means that the same protection can be achieved with less overall material, thereby reducing weight, thickness, and cost. In Phase I we propose an experimental investigation to develop a proof-of-concept demonstration and minimum viable prototype (MVP) of a small volume component ballistic protection solution using SEAL-composites. We propose an experimentally-based investigation to develop and demonstrate the performance benefits of the SEAL-composites. Ballistic experimentation is supplemented by modeling and analysis of relevant non-ballistic factors, such as impacts on thermal properties or equipment maintenance and accessibility. We will engage potential customers and stakeholders early and often in order to ensure that the Phase I prototype is well-aligned with commercialization needs. The new SEAL-composite ballistic material will be directly designed for use in protecting electrical substation equipment. Through a partnership/jointdevelopment effort with a transformer manufacturer it may be possible to deliver intrinsically up-armored transformers. The total bulletproof and blastproof building market is valued at $2.5 billion, and the proposed innovation is directly applicable to increasing the physical security of non-electrical equipment as well. A lower cost/higher-performing ballistic solution benefits the general utility customers, as they are the ones who are affected by power disruption. They also bear the cost of security upgrades through rate increases, and expensive security upgrades are not feasible. Our solution enables improved resiliency and reliability at significantly reduced cost vs. other security approaches like ballistic-resistant substation perimeter walls.