Nanofoil may protect troops in armored vehicles

Filed in archive Materials on July 18, 2006

Reactive Nanotechnologies is developing a "nanofoil" of silicon carbide and titanium to improve armor on vehicles that have been a prime target for improvised explosives and roadside bombs in Iraq and Afghanistan, says a report at eetimes.com.

The company touts the technology as significantly improving existing methods used to attach armor to Army vehicles.

A requirement for lightweight ground vehicles is the ability to join different materials when adding armor. One approach is called nanofoil, which is designed to precisely control the instantaneous release of heat for joining applications.

Nanofoil technology has also been used in chip packaging and thermal management applications.