TMD 402I - Innovation in the Textile and Apparel Complex
The Science and Technology of Chemical and Biological Protective Clothing
Dr.
Eugene Wilusz
Summary by Lisa
Beaudet
This seminar featured a lecture by Dr. Eugene Wilusz of the Natick Soldier Center (NSC), located in Natick, Massachusetts. Dr. Wilusz, team leader of the Soldier Center’s chemical technology team, explained the organization and objectives of the NSC, and gave us an overview of the evolution of the Joint Service Lightweight Integrated Suit Technology (JSLIST) suit that has served as the main form of biological and chemical protective clothing for soldiers.
Dr. Wilusz explained that the Soldier Systems Center’s main function is to carry out research and development that will improve US Military protective clothing. The research and development he conducts will also appear in consumer items later down the road. Some of the departments within the NSC include Clothing and Individual Equipment, Combat Rations and Field Feeding, Shelter and Field Services, and Personnel and Cargo Airdrop. The military personnel who volunteer to participate in research and development act as human guinea pigs who test the suits in climatic chambers simulating extreme climate conditions. He mentioned the opening of a new office called the National Protection Center (NPC). In addition to military use, Dr. Wilusz explained that some of the protective gear being developed at the NSC, such as bulletproof vests and fire resistant clothing, would also be of use to firefighters and police.
Dr. Wilusz’s main focus during the lecture was the evolution of the JSLIST suit. He walked us through the history of this suit, discussing how the original suits contained a polyurethane foam layer that was impregnated with absorptive charcoal powder, which left the wearer coated with black dust. The improved version of the suit, the one that is currently utilized by the military, is called the Saratoga. This suit’s absorptive layer is made of charcoal spheres adhered to a lightweight fabric. Another improvement was the addition of an integral hood, replacing a separate rubber hood that was worn with the older suit. In addition, the Saratoga is 10% lighter than its predecessor, which is of great importance to soldiers who must carry all of their gear. The jacket has been tested to retain protective qualities for 45 days with weekly launderings, after which it is discarded.
Dr. Wilusz continued by introducing us to the newest technology being utilized by his department, which seeks to use membranes, or thin plastic films, as a means of maintaining protective qualities while enabling the construction of a lighter, less-bulky suit. GoreTex, he explained, is currently the best-known membrane material. It has the advantages of being waterproof and breathable as well as lightweight. He noted how the balance between breathability and chemical protection is the challenge for his team, while at the same time they have to attempt to keep the suit as low-cost as possible. He listed the companies that they are currently working on this project with, including WL Gore (makers of GoreTex), DuPont, and Explorer.
The next part of Dr. Wilusz’s lecture was devoted to walking us through the testing of various semi permeable membrane fabrics in their consideration as possible replacements to the charcoal suits now being used. They finally came up with a suit that passed all lab tests, but the suit needed to be tested in real life situations, calling for Man in Simulant Test (MIST). This test involves strategically placing packets of absorptive material under someone wearing the suit, putting the subject in a chamber containing non-toxic vapors where he engages in two hours of exercise, and finally testing the packets for any vapors that penetrated. The results of this test revealed that the material itself was indeed vapor-resistant, but the design of the suit (ie. closures at wrists, etc.) would need to be modified to improve total vapor resistance.
The speaker closed by proposing some protective clothing products that we might see in the future. These included self-detoxifying materials and electro-spun fibers that could someday equate to spray-on uniforms that would encapsulate protective catalysts. In conclusion, Dr. Wilusz’s lecture was informative but poorly organized and rushed, making it difficult to record and comprehend all of the information that he was offering. I feel as though I got the basic gist of what he was talking about, but I wish he could have spared us some of the details of the suit testing and of the organization of the NSC. It was also a difficult lecture due to the large amount of scientific and military jargon he used.