When it comes to protecting Canada’s military personnel and first responders, only the best in equipment and armour will pass the stringent standards requirements of the Canadian Armed Forces and Canada’s regulatory bodies.
Transformational materials technologies offer the opportunity to push beyond the current performance limits of conventional engineered materials, such as aramid fabric/polymer matrix composites. However, developing such new materials, manufacturing them, proving their performance, and successfully integrating them into cost-effective armour requires significant R&D capability, time and financial investment. Canada’s armoured vehicle and personal protective equipment (PPE) industry is globally competitive now, yet few individual companies have the capacity to sustain pace with international developments in this field.
To close the gap between advanced armour materials and real-world applications, the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) and Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC) have teamed up on a new joint initiative. The Security Materials Technology research program will work with Canadian companies to revolutionize protective equipment through the application of disruptive new materials technologies.
Over the seven-year program, NRC and DRDC will work in close partnership with the Canadian security materials and manufacturing industry to develop and transition advanced armour materials and structures that will impact the full security materials value chain, from constituent materials such as carbon nanotubes, to hybrid and nano-modified engineered materials, through to armour components and armour systems for vehicles and PPE.
The program aims to reduce time-to-market and reduce the weight of protective equipment by at least 25 percent, without compromising on protection. These enhancements will improve the protection and mobility for soldiers, security personnel and first responders, which will save Canadian lives and improve operational effectiveness.
Working with NRC and DRDC, collaborating companies will have access to world-class expertise in advanced protection system design, prototype production and testing, including advanced nano-engineered and hybrid materials processing and performance validation.
Winning partnership
NRC is Canada’s national industry-focused research and technology organization, and a trusted partner with world-class scientific, engineering and technology development capability.
DRDC is Canada’s national leader in defence and security science and technology, providing the CAF and other government departments as well as the public safety and national security communities with the knowledge and technologies needed to defend and protect Canada’s interests at home and abroad. DRDC hosts world-class capabilities in design, testing and performance validation of vehicle and personal protection systems.
The close alignment of NRC and DRDC objectives in the area of security materials has driven strategic overlap between the two organizations in recent years. Both benefit by combining their unique and complementary resources and capabilities in the development of advanced ballistic materials.
In May 2014, NRC and DRDC signed an extension to their existing Memorandum of Understanding, formalizing their partnership in jointly undertaking the Security Materials Technology research program.
The program goal is “made in Canada” solutions that will sustain and significantly enhance the global competitive position of this Canadian industry sector, while simultaneously providing top quality gear to Canadian military, first responder and security personnel.
If you are a Canadian company specializing in advanced structural materials, vehicle or personal protective armour products, we invite you to contact us to explore how to apply the unique capabilities of the Security Materials Technology research program to advance your technology development and business goals.
SIDEBAR: Next-generation materials
What’s the latest in disruptive materials technologies to emerge from NRC’s labs? Answer: Boron nitride nanotubes.
Boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) are an exciting new material with a structure very similar to the better known carbon nanotubes. BNNTs share the extraordinary mechanical properties and thermal conductivity of carbon nanotubes, but have the added advantages of optical and infrared transparency, greater thermal and chemical stability, neutron shielding, electric insulation, and even the ability to generate electrical current when subjected to mechanical stress (piezo-electricity). However, they have until now been limited to tiny, unrepeatable production volumes.
NRC has recently developed a new technology for producing BNNTs that is 100 times faster than existing methods and scalable to mass production. This remarkable material could impact many key industry sectors including aerospace, automotive, energy, construction, and even health therapies. The first major focus is aligned with the Security Materials Technology research program: to develop BNNT in advanced engineered materials for light weight polymer or ceramic armours.
Dr. Andrew Johnston is NRC’s Program Leader for the Security Materials Technology research program. Dr. Kevin Williams is DRDC’s Scientific Advisor to the Soldier Program and to the Security Materials Technology research program.