Our BlastGard® Technology extracts heat, decelerates both blast wind and shock waves, and quenches the hot gases in all blasts and fireballs. BlastWrap® does not interact with the explosive elements, and is therefore not altered by them. However, after a single intense detonation, BlastWrap® must be replaced.
- For blasts that produce fireballs or intense hot gases at higher pressures, BlastGard® Technology has the ability, through testing, to cool the blast zone rapidly, thereby reducing structural damage.
- In detonation of high explosives, where at least half of the energy released is in the shock wave, attenuation occurs even more rapidly, and in doing so substantially reduces explosion phenomena.
The performance of BlastWrap® proprietary technology is independent of scenario and environment, which means that it does not matter where the physical location is, how the basic product form is used or the environment in which the event takes place. The basic product form can be used as a stand-alone material (as linings, curtain barriers, or as structural material), or can be laminated or otherwise affixed to a wide range of product forms such as insulation (thermal and acoustic), ballistic armor, or packaging materials. BlastWrap® products can thus provide blast and fire protection in flooring, wall, and roof constructions, in packaging, in storage cabinets and other containment structures, and aboard all types of vehicles, ships, and aircraft.
An explosion results from the rapid conversion of chemical energy into rapidly expanding high-pressure gases. The rapidly expanding gases compress the surrounding air much like a piston and create a shock wave that travels ahead of the explosive gases. The “overpressure” (pressure above ambient) in a shock wave acts to “pre-condition” the air as it passes through to make the following accelerated gas “piston” more damaging. This high intensity, short duration overpressure wave transfers impulse (momentum) which stresses, damages or destroys structures in its path. Impulse follows the shock wave but lingers and decays with time. The negative phase is a partial vacuum that “whips” lighter structures to magnify damage. A shock wave can be likened to an initial hard punch, while the impulse is more like a powerful bulldozer. Any reduction in the effective power of the shock wave will increase the target’s capability to withstand the destructive impulse.
BlastWrap is scientifically engineered and designed to remove much or most of the energy from an explosion. It actually interferes with the blast energy process. There are two primary components of any explosion – mechanical effects (which are shock impulse and acoustic waves) and chemical/thermal effects (fireball). In fact, shock impulse is the real killer in a high explosive blast. BlastWrap dissipates blast shock wave energy through irreversible processes, such as drag, turbulence, friction, viscosity, reflection, etc.; and at the same time, BlastWrap dramatically quenches the flame fronts or fireballs created as a result of the explosion in milliseconds. This is important because a fireball (which represents the rapid gas expansion by the burning of materials) creates enormous pressures, commonly called “the blast wind.” As a result of that, BlastWrap also kills the phenomena of afterburn which can initiate post-blast fires.