Hermetic Seals for Chemical/Biological Protective Garments

Interfaces on existing military chemical/biological protection garments are not designed to fully eliminate macroscopic and microscopic air gaps at folds, fabric surfaces, or hook-and-loop closures, and thus do not provide a hermetic barrier against exposure. Creare is developing hermetic garment closure systems that seal macroscopic and microscopic gaps at interfaces and closures and provide high connection strength at garment interfaces to cloth, rubber gloves, rubber boots, and respirators. Our closure systems fill voids and provide enhanced adhesion and sealing to surfaces with micrometer-scale roughness. In Phase II, we developed novel baseline closure designs and prototypes, demonstrated their improved sealing properties, and produced new prototype adhesive materials. Tests showed the prototype seal designs provide the shear and peel strength of conventional hook-and-loop closure material and significantly reduced air leak rate. Tests of initial prototype adhesives under ideal laboratory conditions demonstrated adhesion strength exceeding that of hook-and-loop adhesive in some cases. In this Sequential Phase II project, we will mature our initial seal and closure designs and overcome initial difficulties in manufacturing large scale adhesives for chemical-resistant seals. We will also produce prototype closures for chemical resistant garments and test the closure sealing and strength properties.