Abstract: The invention relates to armor that is intended to withstand and provide protection against blunt trauma or ballistic impact from a projectile or the impact of a stabbing weapon. Such impacts on the armor may transmit a high localized load to the body of the wearer. The invention reduces the intensity of this loading thereby reducing tissue trauma. The invention uses one or more layers of an energy absorbing material that contains a large volume fraction of fluid filled free space, distributed throughout an internal cellular structure that accommodates deformation on one surface without passing on the same degree of deformation to its adjacent surface. It is, in effect, a highly compressible layer that disperses a dynamic load applied normal to its surface (resulting for example from the bullet impact) into a more laterally extensive pressure distribution. When this material is combined with reinforcing fiber material layers, the deformation reduction is further enhanced.

Abstract: A temperature monitoring system and method for continuously monitoring the temperature of a material and providing a cumulative total time that the material has spent at a temperature above a predetermined temperature threshold over a given period of time or over the shelf life of the material. The apparatus 10 includes a temperature probe which provides an output to a temperature switch. The temperature switch provides an output therefrom to a cascaded counter array. An oscillator also provides an output to the counter array. The counter array maintains a cumulative count (i.e., cumulative time value) that the material has spent above a predetermined maximum temperature threshold. A battery powers the components of the apparatus and a display allows the user to display the cumulative time that the material has spent above the predetermined temperature threshold.

Abstract: A drill plate of the present invention includes a concave body and a vacuum manifold. The concave body defines a plurality of drill ports which act as a drill guides to ensure accurate drill hole placement. The concave body collects, and the vacuum manifold removes, debris from the drilling process. Individual magnetic seals cover each of the drill ports to prevent the escape of debris from the concavity. The drill plate further includes a plurality of tooling pins that allow the drill plate to be affixed to the structure being drilled to improve the accuracy of hole placement and for “hands free” operation. The tooling pins allow the drill plate to be used with composite structures that are held together by hard tooling, such as aluminum parts.