Avoiding shrapnel and rubble in firearm combat is as important as avoiding the bullets and missiles themselves, because they all can kill. Unfortunately, evading this kind debris often comes down to taking refuge within an abandoned building and using its brick or cinderblock structure for cover, an approach which while may offer a relatively substantial degree, is rendered completely moot once missiles and other large projectiles into the fray. A new invention seeks to prevent this from happening by reinforcing walls with Kevlar fiber-stitched wallpaper.
Earlier this month, Nick Boone, a research mechanical engineer with the U.S. Army showcased a lightweight, sticky wallpaper that’s lined with Kevlar fibers to drastically reduce the amount of flying debris from crumbling walls by acting as a catcher’s net. Boone explains that interlacing flexible polymer film with the Kevlar fibers enables the wallpaper to maintain not just a light weight that permits soldiers to easily carry the device as part of their standard equipment, but a flexibility that allows it to be quickly unrolled and attached to walls as needed. This polymer layer, together with the adhesive layers beneath act as a glue that holds the rubble together.
“What appears relatively new about this ballistic wallpaper is that it can be quickly and easily applied by non-specialized units at short notice. This provides significant potential tactical advantages.”
The yet-to-be-named device was on display at the Pentagon on May 14 during the DOD Lab Day amongst other U.S. Army Engineer (ERDC) exhibits; the ballistic wallpaper is currently in the research & development stage.
Source: redorbit.com
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