Abrasive Blasting Noise Control – SBIR N172-134, NCE Phase II Proposal

The purpose of the proposed project is to produce a commercial abrasive blasting nozzle which is more efficient and quieter than a typical commercially-available nozzle. The nozzle will decrease labor hours needed for blasting processes in shipbuilding, decrease workers compensation claims due to hearing loss, and relieve environmental noise restrictions on blasting at shipyards. All of this will contribute toward producing and repairing ships more quickly and efficiently.The Phase 1 SBIR effort resulted in the development of prototype nozzles that were demonstrated to reduce noise and decrease blasting time by when compared to a similarly sized commercial nozzle. The overall technical objective of the proposed Phase II effort is to continue reducing abrasive blasting noise while maintaining or possibly increasing the previous improvements in blasting efficiency realized in Phase I.