Explosion barrier

Details Explosion barrier Explosion barrier

1999-11-01

2001-03-13

Loney, Donald (Department: 1772)

Stock material or miscellaneous articles

Structurally defined web or sheet

Nonplanar uniform thickness material

C428S072000, C428S117000, C428S213000, C428S920000, C181S288000, C181S290000, C089S036020, C102S303000, C052S793100

Reexamination Certificate

active

06200664

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to an explosion barrier and, more particularly, to such a barrier for enclosing a room or the like and absorbing or dissipating significant amounts of energy from an explosion in the room to prevent damage to surrounding rooms and personnel in the same building.
Terrorist bomb attacks provide a demonstrable need for increased protection for building occupants from the debris hazards generated by the blast. Loss of life in such attacks is caused mainly by the debris hazard generated by the blast. A small terrorist bomb, for example, detonated in a confined area, such as an office mail room or the like, can cause extensive damage to the surrounding rooms and personnel. Recent blast tests have demonstrated difficulty in minimizing or containing the damage caused, for example, by a one pound bomb in a 20×20 foot room typical of a mail room or the like.
Accordingly, there is a pressing need for a low cost, simple, non-intrusive room retrofit or barrier that will prevent damage to adjacent rooms and personnel in a building in the event of an explosion in a room. The explosion barrier of the present invention fills this need and is not subject to any of the disadvantages of previously used systems for containing explosions which have been expensive, difficult or complicated to install and have not served to adequately contain an explosion in a room or the like.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The explosion barrier of the present invention is a structural panel similar to those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,348,442 , the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
The structural panel of the present invention may be used as the wall, ceiling and floor of a room to be contained, or may be installed as an inner layer on the existing walls, ceiling and floor of the room. The structural panel generally comprises a base sheet, a plurality of truncated polyhedral elements projecting from the base sheet, and a face sheet secured to the truncated apexes of the polyhedral elements. The base portions of the polyhedral elements may be opened or closed and are secured to the face sheet. This construction provides a structural panel that is lightweight, strong, inexpensive to manufacture and is resistant to bending and other stresses caused by an explosion or the like.
Each of the truncated polyhedral elements is filled with a suitable liquid such as water and has a hole therein that is closed by a burst disk, seal or the like. The polyhedral elements are constructed to collapse in the event of an explosion or the like, thereby causing the failure or removal of the burst disk or seal to open the holes therein and provide a misting action of the liquid therein.
In the event of an explosion in a room surrounded by the structural panel of the present invention, the base sheet is constructed to disintegrate or separate from the polyhedral elements so that the misting action of the liquid expelled from the collapsed elements envelopes the area surrounding the room with liquid vapor which absorbs heat and kinetic energy of the shock wave from the explosion and absorbs up to about ninety percent of the energy associated with the explosion.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1
is an exploded perspective view of one embodiment of a structural panel of the present invention;
FIG. 2
is a side elevational view, partly in section, of the assembled structural panel shown in
FIG. 1
;
FIG. 3
is a top plan view of the structural panel shown in
FIG. 2
, with parts broken away; and
FIGS. 4-6
are perspective views of different types of polyhedral elements that could be used in the structural panel of the present invention.


REFERENCES:
patent: 3011602 (1961-12-01), Ensrud et al.
patent: 3013641 (1961-12-01), Compton
patent: 3876492 (1975-04-01), Schott
patent: 3969563 (1976-07-01), Hollis, Sr.
patent: 4251579 (1981-02-01), Lee et al.
patent: 4348442 (1982-09-01), Figge
patent: 5122213 (1992-06-01), Figge, Sr.
patent: 5124196 (1992-06-01), Figge, Sr.
patent: 5394786 (1995-03-01), Gettle et al.
patent: 5435226 (1995-07-01), McQuilkin
patent: 5532039 (1996-07-01), Payne et al.

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