Bengali scientist’s ‘magic component’ withstands 10 kg TNT blast at 1.9 ft
Times of India | 20 November 2024
12 Kolkata: Bengali scientist Shantanu Bhowmik has developed a "magic composition", which resists being charred by fire or destroyed by explosions.
Shaheed Udham Singh Armour, a high-impact resistance hybrid composite, withstood the force of 10 kg of TNT from a distance of merely 1.9 feet during a recent test at Terminal Ballistic Research Laboratory (TBRL) in Chandigarh, under the ministry of defence. The test, conducted according to NATO's STANAG Level 4 standards, highlights the material's resilience and potential to safeguard military personnel and equipment.
It took Bhowmik, who is the head of the research programme and a professor of aerospace engineering at Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham in Coimbatore, eight years of research to develop the composite. His work aims at addressing the need for blast-proofing critical defence assets, such as military vehicles, field bunkers and ships, given the series of attacks over the past two decades, including the one at Pulwama in 2019. "If our forces had blast-protected vehicles, we could have prevented the loss of so many of our soldiers," Bhowmik said.
"The high-impact resistance hybrid composite neutralises the intense impact of explosions, protecting occupants from mechanical and thermal stresses generated. The material's unique composition absorbs and disperses energy from high-pressure blasts, preserving the integrity of the structure and ensuring the safety of those inside," said Bhowmik.
Bhowmik's previous defence innovations include a lightweight bulletproof vest a four other patented composites, each named after prominent historical figures—Netaji Subhas Armour, a lightweight bulletproof composite; Chhatrapati Shivaji Armour, an IED-blast-proof composite; Rani Lakshmi Bai Armour, an ultralight fireproof composite; and Rani Chennamma Armour, a lightweight transparent bulletproof windshield. All five technologies have been approved by India's chief of defence staff, general Anil Chauhan, and national security adviser Ajit Doval after rigorous field testing.
As part of his research at Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Bhowmik led a collaborative team, including three Indian Navy officers, one Army officer and four PhD scholars with aerospace engineering colleague V Sivakumar conducting a Finite Element Analysis (FEM) on the blast-proof composite structure.