Nano Polymer Retrofit for Blast Protection Application

Abstract

According to the present invention there is provided a nanopolymer material for absorbing a propagating shockwave of high intensity such as generated from a bomb blast. The said nanopolymer is composed of nanoviscous and microelastic domains obtained by the polyaddition reaction between a combination of long chain / short chain diols, three dimensional precursors and suitable accelerators / curing agents. The shock absorbance properties in the fabricated nanopolymer are obtained by adjusting the composition of the primary ingredients and adopting a processing protocol that yields a micro-phase segregated segmented structure of defined mechanical properties. More specifically, the viscous domains in the said nanopolymer are tuned for maximum energy dissipation in the incident shockwave, thus rendering the blast ineffective. In situ application of the nanopolymer on masonry and similar construction yields tough and resilient coatings to preferentially absorb the shockwave energy and thus protect the structure from collapsing as a result of a nearby blast. Additionally, the retrofitted nanopolymer by virtue of the membrane encapsulating effect prevents the fragments of the structure to escape, thus mitigating the chances of injury or death to the inmates. As opposed to the prior art, the present material and configuration obviates the necessity of heavy fortifications and bulky barricades composed of reinforced concrete, sand bags, or hash-type encapsulations, apart from being much cheaper in cost as compared to other similar coatings.