Enhancing Safety and Protection: The Power of Blast Mitigation with Polyurea

In today’s volatile world, ensuring the safety and security of individuals and infrastructure has become increasingly vital. Among the various threats, explosions pose significant risks, resulting in devastating consequences. However, recent advances in blast mitigation techniques have revolutionized the field, introducing advanced materials such as polyurea that offer exceptional protection against the destructive forces of blasts. This blog post will delve into the concept of blast mitigation, exploring the significance of polyurea and its applications in safeguarding lives and property.

Understanding Blast Mitigation

Blast mitigation refers to the combination of strategies, technologies, and materials implemented to reduce the impact of explosions. Whether it is accidental explosions in industrial settings or deliberate acts of terrorism, the goal of blast mitigation is to limit casualties, minimize property damage, and promote overall resilience. Effective blast mitigation measures go beyond simply preventing explosions; they aim to control the pressure, impulse, and fragmentation produced during blast events.

Polyurea: A Game-Changing Material
Among the various materials utilized in blast mitigation, polyurea stands out as a highly effective and versatile solution. Polyurea is a synthetic polymer known for its exceptional strength, flexibility, and durability. It offers remarkable resistance to impact, corrosion, chemical exposure, as well as extreme temperatures. These characteristics make polyurea an ideal choice for blast mitigation applications.

Polyurea’s Applications in Blast Mitigation
Polyurea finds wide-ranging applications in blast mitigation due to its unique properties. It can be used as a protective coating for infrastructure, reinforcing structural elements with an extra layer of resilience. From government buildings and military facilities to critical infrastructure such as bridges and power plants, polyurea coatings provide an effective barrier against blasts.

Additionally, polyurea-based liners can be utilized to protect containment vessels, fuel storage tanks, and pipelines. Their highly flexible nature enables them to withstand immense pressure and absorb shockwaves, preventing catastrophic failures. Such applications are particularly crucial in environments prone to accidents or attacks.

Polyurea’s Benefits Compared to Alternatives
Compared to traditional blast mitigation materials, polyurea offers several significant advantages. Firstly, its fast curing time ensures quicker installation, reducing downtime for critical facilities. Moreover, its high tensile strength and elasticity allow for maximum energy absorption, effectively dissipating blast forces and reducing structural damage.

The remarkable chemical resistance of polyurea contributes to its longevity, protecting structures from corrosion and degradation over time. Also, its ability to adhere to various substrates, including concrete, steel, and wood, ensures a seamless application across diverse surfaces.


Polyurea’s Future in Blast Mitigation
As technology continues to evolve, so does the field of blast mitigation. Polyurea stands at the forefront of these advancements, with ongoing research and development focused on enhancing its properties further. New formulations and innovations are being explored to cater to specific blast scenarios, including underwater explosions, ballistic impacts, and seismic events.

Conclusion
In an ever-changing world, blast mitigation remains a critical aspect of protecting lives and infrastructure. The exceptional properties of polyurea have paved the way for more effective blast mitigation strategies, offering enhanced safety and resilience. From protective coatings to liners, polyurea provides the strength, flexibility, and durability necessary to withstand the destructive forces of explosions. As the field of blast mitigation progresses, polyurea continues to be a game-changer, ensuring a safer tomorrow for everyone.

Enhancing Safety with Blast Mitigation Coatings: A Closer Look

Enhancing Safety with Blast Mitigation Coatings: A Closer Look

In recent years, the need for improved safety measures against unexpected explosions and blasts has grown significantly. Whether it’s in high-risk industries such as oil and gas, military operations, or even public infrastructure, the potential devastation caused by these incidents demands innovative solutions. One such solution gaining prominence is the use of blast mitigation coatings. This blog post intends to explore the concept, benefits, and applications of blast mitigation coatings in ensuring enhanced protection against explosions.

 

Understanding Blast Mitigation Coatings:


Blast mitigation coatings are specialized materials designed to withstand and mitigate the effects of explosions. These coatings primarily focus on reducing the impact of shockwaves, heat, and fragmentation resulting from an explosion. By dissipating and redirecting the force of an explosion, these coatings effectively minimize damage, reduce injuries, and save lives.

 

The Benefits of Blast Mitigation Coatings:

 

Enhanced Safety: The primary advantage of blast mitigation coatings is the increased safety they provide. By absorbing and dispersing the energy generated during an explosion, these coatings significantly reduce the impact on structures and equipment, thereby minimizing the risk of catastrophic damage and human casualties.
Structural Integrity Preservation: Blast mitigation coatings play a crucial role in preventing structural failure. By absorbing and dampening the force of an explosion, they help maintain the integrity of buildings, infrastructure, and equipment. This preservation ensures that critical operations can continue, reducing downtime and associated costs.
Fragmentation Mitigation: In addition to shockwaves, blasts often produce high-speed fragments and shrapnel that can cause severe injuries and additional damage. Blast mitigation coatings are designed to mitigate the propagation of fragments, reducing the risk of injuries and minimizing collateral damage.
Heat and Fire Resistance: Explosions release intense heat and fire, which can further escalate the level of damage and risks. Blast mitigation coatings have fire resistance properties that help prevent the spread of flames and control heat propagation. This aspect enhances safety and provides additional time for evacuation and firefighting measures.

 

Applications of Blast Mitigation Coatings:

 

Infrastructure Protection: The use of blast mitigation coatings can significantly enhance the safety of critical infrastructure such as government buildings, transportation hubs, and power plants. By applying these coatings to walls, windows, and structures, the impact of a blast can be mitigated, reducing the potential for collapse and damage to essential services.
Military and Defense: Blast mitigation coatings find extensive application in military and defense sectors to safeguard personnel, vehicles, and equipment from the devastating effects of explosions on the battlefield. Armored vehicles, aircraft, and even protective gear can benefit greatly from the use of these coatings, providing soldiers with an added layer of safety.
Oil and Gas Industry: The oil and gas industry is inherently vulnerable to explosions due to the presence of highly flammable substances, such as gas pipelines and storage tanks. Implementing blast mitigation coatings on these assets can help prevent catastrophic events, protect workers, and reduce the environmental impact of potential accidents.
Public Spaces and Transportation: Public spaces like airports, train stations, and stadiums, as well as public transportation systems, can be high-value targets for terrorist attacks. Blast mitigation coatings applied to windows, walls, and ceilings can reduce the impact of an explosion, safeguarding the lives and well-being of the public.


Blast mitigation coatings offer a significant leap forward in enhancing safety against the destructive force of explosions. With their ability to disperse energy, mitigate fragmentation, and resist heat and fire, these coatings provide vital protection for critical infrastructure, high-risk industries, and public spaces. By investing in and implementing blast mitigation coatings, we can mitigate the impact of unexpected blasts, save lives, and prevent catastrophic damage. In an era where safety is paramount, blast mitigation coatings are a crucial tool for protecting our communities and ensuring a more secure future.

 

A Polyurea Coating that protects structures up to 20x Explosion Forces

For years numerous companies and governments around the world have tried to come up with better ways to protect human lives and physical property from blast threats.

The damage caused by blasts/explosions and the resulting energy shock waves can cause devastating losses.  Modern chemistry and the innovative R&D team at ArmorThane have produced several solutions to help provide blast protection and combat these tragic events.

“Protecting the protectors”

ArmorThane’s ArmorBlast ultra high strength Polyurea coatings provide superior blast mitigation and ballistics protection to military and civilian entities around the world.

ArmorThane Selected To Assist NATO For Blast Mitigation Testing - ArmorThane

ArmorThane originally developed these groundbreaking polymer coatings for the United States military. After years of R&D and continual improvement of the technology, ArmorThane is proud to offer industry, cutting-edge, blast resistance solutions that help save human lives and protect property.

Contact them today to learn more about how ArmorThane’s advanced Polyurea coatings provide superior blast and ballistic protection.

Blast and explosion mitigation has come a long way from thick concrete and metal housings. New research into granular-filled panels and metal foams has taken the spotlight in some material research circles, but these energy dissipative techniques can be disruptive to the structure or system that is being protected.

Explosion and blast mitigation has advanced from the thick concrete and metal housings. The latest research on granular-filled panels as well as metal foams has been able to grab the spotlight in certain research groups, however, these methods of dissipating energy could cause disruption to the structure or system protection.

ArmorThane Simulates Explosions In Order To Advance The Coatings Industry – BLAST MITIGATION

books on blast Strategies for Mitigation

The Office of Naval Research, since 2000 and continuing to fund research to create strong, blast-reducing solutions for ship hulls following attacks on the USS Cole. The focus of the research was ways to prevent rupture due to an underwater explosion that was close to the surface.. The result was the development of the high tensile strength and weight-to-weight ratio polymer, which was given the name Energy/Explosion Resistant Coating or ERC.

Dragonshield-2
ArmorThane ArmorBlast Protected Wall

To the left is an image from a demonstration by ArmorThane of a polyurea coating applied to an unconstructed block of concrete. The front side of the wall was covered with ArmorBlast and the backside was left untreated. The uncoated blocks were able to break and throw projectiles but the front was solid. If it is applied on the whole wall the internals could break but the wall will remain in place and the force that was emitted by the impact will be extinguished.

Alternatives for ERCs are available now and are generally constructed from identical polyurea, polyurethane, or in combination with other techniques to mitigate blasts. The claims are that a wall coated with ERC (such as ArmorBlast, Defend-X, and a variety of other coatings for blast mitigation) can withstand forces of explosion as high as 20 times the force of that of a comparable, uncoated wall. It can be utilized alongside concrete, wood brick, steel as well as other materials for structural engineering in both military and commercial applications.

An even more amazing demonstration of an ERC coated brick wall, a cinder block as well as a control wall, both of which were hit by a realistic car bomb blast. The inside view of 1:10 shows walls expanding inwards, but is held in its ERC coating.

Watch how the combination consisting of polyurea as well as Kevlar sheet can stop this cinder block from being blown up by an explosion. The blast was large enough to resemble the typical car bomb. It was the left wall that had been left unfinished as designed to serve as the control wall. The right side was coated with polyurea

The ONR after 9/11 increased its research efforts to include protection from ballistic penetration as well as land mines and IEDs that were improvised (IED) and blasts. The polymer was incorporated into vehicles for troop transport and multi-purpose use. From this point, spray-on variations that made use of ERC polymer were created and were later widely used.

Creating A Bullet Resistant Knight Rider

If a hyper-intelligent car is your main tool for thwarting criminals, it is vital that it be bulletproof or your career may be cut short. Although you don’t want heavy armor panels to stop your hyper-intelligent vehicle from being super-fast and high-performance.
 
The latest version of the Knight Rider car solves this problem using nanotech magic. However, the original Knight Rider used a bullet-resistant coating. This was the formula for some of their most memorable episodes (The Goliath episodes).
 
 
Knight Rider" Goliath Returns (TV Episode 1984) - IMDb                                                                             
Although science took another 15 years to develop the bullet-proof coating, ArmorThane was able to make it a reality with their polyurea protective coating. ArmorLiner, their latest advanced and innovative variant of this coating product is a spray-on polyurea coating that makes walls virtually indestructible. Once applied they become bullet/blast resistant and ready to take on any situation.
It was tested by the U.S. Air Force on a typical quicky-build military structure. They were amazed at how well it held up to explosions. Polyurea could not be damaged by the 1,000 pounds of TNT that were required to do so. Some Facts about Fast-Setting Polyurea Spray Coatings
Smash Lab, a Discovery Channel program, tested a polyurea coating on two trucks. One truck had the coating, and one did not. (Although Rhino Liner is a competitor to ArmorThane, it is very similar in chemical makeup.) They then set off five pounds worth of “industrial explosives” underneath the truck’s rear axle. The truck-bed that was left uncoated was shredded and scattered across the desert test site. The liner deflected the blast to the front of the truck and destroyed the cab.  It makes sense to coat KITT with the stuff and have a bulletproof car. You can paint over it to give KITT a sleek and shiny appearance.

 

 

Bullet Proof Bedliner: Why ArmorLiner Is The Ultimate Liner
ArmorLiner is opaque so traditional bulletproof windows will be required. Then there is the issue of the underbody. It is easier to repair cars that are open at the bottom. Coating every part of the car’s bottom would require cutting through the material every time an item needed to be repaired or checked. It is more likely that KITT has a large metal shield running along the underbody. Sarah Graiman and Bonnie would need to take it off in order to make repairs. When fixing-it scenes are being shot, I imagine that a long shielding piece shaped like KITT is leaning against the wall. It’s possible that Billy will knock it over.
 
 
Show News: Knight Rider’s future has been covered in a lot of news lately. The show was first picked up for a full season. After that, the entire season was cut by four episodes. NBC also decided to eliminate three characters: Carrie Rivai and Alex Torres. Future episodes will bear a closer resemblance with the original series, where KITT assists in finding terrorists and criminals. Although it is not clear whether the show will be canceled, there are some signs.

US Military Research Shows Polyurea slows bullets, blast fragments and protects against corrosion

Major corrosion problems faced by Amphibious Assault Vehicles (AAVs) in the United States Marine Corps could be solved with polyurea.

As the U.S. Marine Corps looks to extend the AAV, Dr. Mike Roland and Dr. Ray Gamache of the U.S Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) have led a study project into how best to shield and prolong the life of these armored vehicles.

Like those NRL is investigating, innovative sustainment concepts enable them to avoid the cost of new design, development, and production of new components. Since the 1990’s the U.S. Marine Corps has been using bolted-on armor to protect their AAVs. This armor is a laminate of high hard steel, rubber, and soft steel coating in the back. The issue is, this armor gets corroded in severe conditions – including exposure to saltwater. 

                                   Amphibious Assault Vehicle  

The corrosion starts at cracks in the paint, which happens due to expanding the different layers within the laminate – which expand and contract independently due to environmental changes.

The NRL states that polyurea will better protect the armor from corrosion by expanding and contracting with it, rather than cracking as paint does. Furthermore, polyurea demonstrated resistance to bullets and blast fragments by taking kinetic energy from the bullet.

By recreating the unique corrosion issues of the Amphibious Assault Vehicles in a lab, the team has concluded that polyurea is a much better product for protecting the armor against corrosion than paint.

“We solved the corrosion problem,” says Dr. Mike Roland of the NRL. “And with a negligible increase in weight, we also provided a higher payload capacity and the potential for better ballistic protection.”

With conventional materials, you can have something that’s stiff but doesn’t stretch much; or you can have something soft, like silly putty, and it stretches a lot. Polyureas can stretch to 10 times their original length, but the force it takes to do that is enormous—so you get extreme toughness. It truly is the best of both worlds!

To find out which polyurea products would work best for your project, ArmorThane recommends contacting them with your details and one of their experts will assist you in finding the best one.

ArmorThane’s polyurea products can be applied directly to steel and offer incredible shore hardness and elongation that is excellent for flexibility and protection against corrosion, impact, and abrasion. Industrial Coatings - How Polyurea Coatings Help Military Vehicles | IXS Coatings

ArmorThane Simulates Explosions In Order To Advance The Coatings Industry

After an explosion, the first few microseconds are the most important moments for ArmorThane, because that’s when the first hint of damage occurs to nearby structures. As one of the world’s leaders in the field of protective coatings, ArmorThane can decipher a great deal about the explosion and about the damaged materials by those first tiny cracks and how they expand.


ArmorThane has been working since the early 1980s with the U.S. military and, more recently, with the EU military and NATO to determine how things break apart and how much force it takes to break them. Their goal is to produce stronger materials that will mitigate the damage from blasts.


Using powerful processors, a three-dimensional digital image correlation operation, and one of the world’s most indelible cameras, which takes stills at 200 million frames per second, ArmorThane can visualize the exact moment of impact. They have used this equipment to improve bulletproof vests, learn how underground bunkers withstand various impacts, and strengthen concrete, among other plans.


For the last several years, they have modified their application to blast mitigation research for military use to help submarines, ships, and other naval facilities withstand blasts.
“When an explosion occurs in the water, its force is far greater than a similar explosion in the air,” said Chad Faught, head of sales for ArmorThane. “So we’re working to understand how damage occurs in air and underwater and strengthening the architecture of new carbon fiber and glass fiber materials as well as our polyurea products to mitigate the damage.”
He is also taking what he has discovered from this research and applying it to the development of blast-resistant materials for buildings, bridges, and tunnels. He is studying the structural materials of these buildings and such things as blast-resistant glass and special coatings on materials that will make them less likely to fail.


“We test these substances at pressures comparable to a large blast using a shock tube,” Faught said, referring to a 23-foot long device that imitates the shock wave from an exploding bomb. “By using the shock tube device very close to the materials we are testing, we can get the equivalent results as by testing much larger explosions farther from the materials. And it’s much safer.”


ArmorThane’s latest project collaborates with large military-backed companies to develop new materials that can be used in the construction of high-tech airplanes that can fly into space.
“We’re creating what’s called functionally graded materials,” he said. “These materials must have thermic characteristics on the outside to resist the tremendous heat that occurs when it re-enters the atmosphere, but they also have to have mechanical properties on the interior to withstand the great load or pressure that will be exerted on the plane.”