AFRL Explores Barrier Coatings for Protecting Military Facilities and Personnel

  • Published
  • By Heyward Burnette
  • Materials and Manufacturing Directorate
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio --  Researchers from AFRL, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), and the Joint Science and Technology Office (JSTO) joined forces to conduct extensive research on materials technologies with the potential to protect military structures against chemical warfare agents. The research, which is ongoing, has already helped DTRA define parameters concerning structural protection of this nature. It will also assist the agency's efforts to identify products capable of protecting military personnel from harmful chemical warfare agents that may be used against them, both at home and in forward operating locations. The successful results have prompted the decision to transition select barrier coating products to the Joint Expeditionary Collective Protection (JECP) program. Inexpensive and easy to apply, the transitioning technology will save both money and time.

Facilities such as the tents, medical buildings, and offices where military personnel perform their duties need to be protected from the threat of permeating chemical warfare agents should such an attack occur outside the structure. Consequently, DTRA and JSTO initiated a research program with AFRL and in-house contractor Applied Research Associates, Inc., to begin identifying and testing commercial off-the-shelf products that may meet this critical need.

The researchers sought products that field personnel could apply quickly and easily to the inside of a structure. They wanted a product that would not only stop air inside the structure from leaking out, but would also protect the structure's vulnerable areas from penetration by a chemical released outside. It was also essential that the product's application demand only simple tools, such as paint sprayers. Based on these criteria, the team selected for in-lab and large-scale tests six commercial products: ALARA 1146, Tubcoat 4410, Stripcoat TLC Free, LINE-X, Olympic latex paint, and sandable polyurethane foam.

Though their research continues, team members have already identified two of the chosen products--ALARA and Tubcoat--as practical protective solutions for mitigating chemical threats. These nontoxic, water-based coatings are readily applied to a facility's interior, where they quickly dry to provide a suitable protective barrier that can later be peeled off the structure. JSTO officials are so pleased with this research outcome that they have launched plans for transitioning the technology to JECP this year.