LUNA INNOVATIONS INCORPORATED — Department of Defense SBIR Phase II: A17-075

Description

Current Army Combat Uniforms (ACU) fabricated with 50:50 nylon:cotton (NYCO) blends are relatively inexpensive with the drawback of being extremely flammable. For selected duty missions necessitating flame resistance (FR), the military currently supplies an FR-ACU that utilizes flame resistant polyaramid fabrics. There are several issues with these fabrics: i) they are expensive ($25-30/yard), ii) they do not possess the same level of comfort as the standard NYCO ACU, iii) they are not Berry Amendment compliant, and iv) they have poor mechanical durability. In Phase I Luna developed a FR nylon solution that offers a significant decrease in heat release rate along with char formation, and was shown to readily self-extinguish when flame-tested at the fiber and textile level. To further develop this technology in Phase II Luna proposes to optimize the highly durable, flame resistant nylon fiber. This fiber will then used to produce a FR NYCO ACU that will overcome the comfort and sourcing issues associated with the current FR-ACU. The material developed will be a drop-in replacement for the nylon currently used in ACUs. This new FR-NYCO will meet the requirements (e.g. tear strength, weight, and breaking strength) outlined in MIL-DTL-44436B and the purchase description GL-PD-07-12, Rev. 9.