CORNERSTONE RESEARCH GROUP INC — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: AF191-024

Description

Military operations in cold environments require warfighters utilize protective garments, such as boots, to reduce heat loss and prevent numbness, clumsiness, frostbite, and hypothermia. Current state-of-the-art flight boots do not meet extreme cold protection requirements, due to shape and size limitations imposed by restricted foot space in and around aircraft. Powered limb heating systems can improve cold weather capabilities. However, current fielded wearable military battery systems have relatively small energy storage capacity and their performance degrades in cold temperatures. Cornerstone Research Group, Inc. (CRG), in partnership with Clemson University’s Textile Group and EXO2 heating products, will develop a heated boot liner for the Air Force. CRG will design wearable heating elements leveraging EXO2’s family of FabRoc self-regulating heating materials. Skin interface and insulation materials will be specified and integrated around the FabRoc heating element to produce a multilayered heated liner. The proposed approach enables the use of existing flight boots, maintaining compliance with size limitations imposed by operating in and around aircraft. CRG will leverage its on-going research in man-portable power systems and battery technology to design a high capacity, lightweight energy source for the wearable heating system.