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Optically clear ballistic resistant polymer nanocomposites

Award Information
Agency: Department of Defense
Branch: Army
Contract: W81XWH-06-C-0074
Agency Tracking Number: O052-H02-3068
Amount: $99,977.00
Phase: Phase I
Program: SBIR
Solicitation Topic Code: OSD05-H02
Solicitation Number: 2005.2
Timeline
Solicitation Year: 2005
Award Year: 2005
Award Start Date (Proposal Award Date): 2005-12-29
Award End Date (Contract End Date): 2006-12-29
Small Business Information
2851 Commerce Street
Blacksburg, VA 24060
United States
DUNS: 627132913
HUBZone Owned: Yes
Woman Owned: No
Socially and Economically Disadvantaged: No
Principal Investigator
 James Garrett
 Principal Investigator
 (540) 552-5128
 submissions@lunainnovations.com
Business Contact
 Wendy Williams
Title: Director of Contracts
Phone: (540) 552-5128
Email: submissions@lunainnovations.com
Research Institution
N/A
Abstract

The modern warfighter is equipped with the best personal protective equipment available today, but that is not enough. Thirteen percent of casualties in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm were ophthalmic injuries and only 3% of those injured were wearing protective goggles. There is a real and immediate need for a lightweight, optically clear visor that will provide adequate protection to a soldier. To address this critical need, Luna Innovations proposes a visor made of an optically clear ballistic polymer nanocomposite to provide increased ballistic, abrasion, and chemical resistance, while reducing areal density. The benefits of the polymer nanocomposite are many. The one component system is easier to manufacture than a hard coating over a substrate. There are no delamination or incompatibility (refractive index, coefficient of expansion) issues as would be found in coating/substrate systems. Finally, the polymer nanocomposite is expected to have a uniform abbe number, which is crucial for optical accuracy through a curved face shield. The purpose of the proposed Phase I project is to demonstrate the feasibility of an optically clear ballistic polymer nanocomposite to increase performance while decreasing areal density. This phase will culminate in ballistics testing of sample panels in an effort to demonstrate NIJ Armor Type IIIA rating.

* Information listed above is at the time of submission. *

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