Durable Stretch Barrier Materials

The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) presents a serious security threat to U.S. and allied personnel around the world. Military personnel and first responders must be prepared to operate under a wide range of chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear (CBRN) threats. Commercially available CBRN protective suits are bulky offering little dexterity to the wearer, therefore new stretch materials are desired to enhance comfort and agility. While offering increased freedom of movement, currently available stretchable fabrics, are unable to provide the chemical barrier protection required to respond to CBRN events. The ideal solution would provide stretch durability of 12 – 20% while still providing stringent chemical and vapor protection. Researchers at Luna have developed elastomeric barrier materials that have shown significantly reduced chemical permeation while greatly improving toughness and puncture resistance. The resulting composite barrier system will be designed to allow lamination onto flame resistant fabrics demonstrating the practicality of the barrier system. The Phase I development program will demonstrate a multi-protective composite with superior chemical and biological protection that can easily be incorporated into new CBRN protective ensembles with high user acceptability for comfort.