Triton Systems Inc., founded in 1992 as a leading applied research and development firm, is an early to midstage nanotechnology incubator dedicated to developing new products based on its nanoengineering, nanocomposites and specialty materials expertise. The privately owned company develops innovative products and processes for the US government and commercial markets, focusing on fast growing markets that ‘pull’ innovation into the marketplace. Triton has recently been awarded two Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contracts totaling $1.4 million to research, develop, and apply its armor materials technology to specific armor applications. The Phase II program concerned with ‘lightweight MCMC (Metal-Ceramic Matrix Composite) armor body panels for commercial vehicles,’ is focused on developing lightweight, high-performance armor for the protection of light utility vehicles used by the US Army. Current steel vehicle armor for a high-mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicle (HMMWV) that is a light tactical vehicle for command and control, special purpose shelter carriers, and special purpose weapons platforms, can range from 900 lb to 4,000 lb, significantly reducing vehicle payload and mobility as well as increasing wear-and-tear on the suspension and drivetrain. Using Triton’s MCMC material it may be possible to reduce armor weight by 40% to 50%, while providing high multihit capability. The MCMC armor is composed of multiple layers that transition from a hard ceramic face shield to a high strength ductile metal backplane in an integrated system. The proprietary MCMC armor process consists of a preform that is infiltrated and thermally processed to produce a ceramic to metal gradient. Key performance advantages include exceptional multihit performance, significant reduction in required aerial density for a given threat (compared to rolled homogeneous armor), easy formability of multicurve shapes, and easy armor panels attachment to vehicle structures. The MCMC armor system can be scaled for applications ranging from body armor to light vehicle protection. The second Phase II program awarded to Triton, ‘novel hierarchical multilayer laminated plastic structures for transparent armor,’ is directed toward the Army’s interest of incorporating nanomaterial additives into polymers to create ‘next generation transparent lightweight armor with enhanced survivability against emerging threats.’ Current transparent armor systems are based on laminated acrylic, polycarbonate, and glass structures using acrylic as the ‘face sheet’ and does not provide an optimal degree of strength and hardness. Triton has developed a material that is suitable for application as an improved protective face sheet for face shield and other applications that deliver enhanced ballistic performance. Triton’s ‘Transparent Armor Face (TAF) sheet is based on novel polyacrylic-silica hybrid nanocomposite technology that produces a unique organic/inorganic nanocomposite hybrid network of polyacrylic polymers and silica glass. TAF demonstrates a number of very important combinations of properties. The material’s optical transparency is greater than 94%, and compared to the unmodified acrylic material, which served as the control, the new TAF acrylic hybrid nanocomposite material shows increased hardness, and has higher elastic modulus as well as higher flexural modulus while maintaining processability and optical clarity. Details: Ross Haghighat President & CEO, Triton Systems Inc., 200 Turnpike Road, Chelmsford, MA 01824. Phone: 978-250-4200 Fax: 978-250-4533 E-mail: rhaghighat @tritonsystems.com To comment on this article, write to us at tiresearch@frost.com
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