| Title | Novel Enhanced Tactical Systems (NETS) |
| Submission Date | 02/26/2014 |
| Service Agency | Industry/Civilian |
| Principal | Greg Kilchenstein |
| Point of Contact | John P. Puglia, Ph.D. john.puglia@separationsresearch.com |
| Maintenance Focus Area | Environmental |
| Project Number | IN-14-0006-TI |
| Description | Netting is currently used on U.S. Navy ships to provide fall protection for landing/maintenance crews. This netting in past years was fabricated using metallic cord and at present is constructed from nylon braid. The metal nets were quite durable,but added to the ship radar cross-section and were heavy. The nylon used now is lightweight and has no radar signature, but must be replaced every 12 to 18 months due to UV degradation and abrasion. Separations Research, LLC and Dianmond Nets utilized high performance Liquid Crystal Polymer (LCP) Kevlar(R) fibers to address the Navy’s need for an improved deck-edge safety net with a 5+ year life-cycle. Initially,lightweight cords were produced and tested for their ability to withstand harsh marine environments and loading conditions. Test results indicated that superior mechanical properties and weatherability can be achieved using cords with high-strength LCP fiber based cores. Later, advanced long-life netting was refined and installed on a selected Navy vessel such as a DDG-51 and DDG-83. Netting fabrication schemes were also be developed that significantly reduce the logistics burden and time for assembly/installation. Today, on-site training of enlisted personnel can be conducted and appropriate training documentation will be prepared. BENEFITS: Our long-life netting will provide the Navy with a lightweight personnel safety webbing which will be inexpensive to maintain and robust enough to last 5+ years in harsh marine environments. Government and commercial applications for long-lifesafety nets are numerous and include a number of near-term and future applications. The cords alone can find use in markets such as sonar buoy cables, ship handling cables, helicopter rescue cables, parachutes cords, stainless wire replacement, and trawl cables. On naval vessels, applications such as emergency egress trunk nets, save-all nets, or cargo nets are excellent examples where this technology can be used. |
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