I-Corps: Smart Fire Protection Blankets

这个i-Corps项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发一种新型的智能消防毯(SFPB)，以保护公民和消防员免受野火和/或承受危险的高温暴露。野火现在更常见，可能会因被困、烧伤或窒息而死亡；自2011年以来，这些死亡人数不断增加。使用拟议的技术，一旦消防员或第一反应人员暴露在中等温度下，毯子就会经历相变并开始膨胀，产生气囊。这减少了从火到消防员皮肤的热流，减少了烧伤伤害。这个i-Corps项目是基于利用形状记忆元件开发的一种新型智能消防毯。铝箔、玻璃纤维、凯夫拉纤维、阻燃板和二氧化硅编织的背衬将与形状记忆元件交织在一起。当检测到过多的热曝光时，快速致动相变特性被激活。一旦激活，形状记忆元件将膨胀并在毯子内引入气囊，这将降低它们的导热系数，并降低烧伤的风险。建议的智能服装将具有根据环境温度调整气囊厚度的自我调节特性。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of a new class of smart fire protection blankets (SFPB) to protect citizens and firefighters from wildfires and/or sustaining dangerous exposures to excessive heat. Wildfires, now more common, can cause death from entrapment, burns, or asphyxiation; these mortalities have increased continuously since 2011. With the proposed technology, once the firefighter or first responder is exposed to moderate temperatures, the blanket undergoes a phase transformation and begins expanding, generating an air pocket. This reduces the heat flow from the fire to the firefighter’s skin, reducing burn injuries.This I-Corps project is based on the development of a new class of smart fire protection blankets utilizing shape memory elements. Layers of aluminum foil, fiberglass, Kevlar, fire-retardant sheets and a backing of silica weave will be interwoven with the shape memory elements. The fast actuation phase transformation characteristics are activated when excessive thermal exposures are detected. Once activated, the shape memory elements will expand and introduce air pockets inside the blanket that will reduce their thermal conductivity and also lower the risk of burns. The proposed smart garment will have self-tuning characteristics to adjust the thickness of the air pockets according to the ambient temperature.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.