A proprietary innovation in blast-resistance is based on a familiar technology. Steel-belted radial tires incorporate the same wire metallurgy as Hardwire, a family of high-tensile-steel reinforcement products said by the manufacturer to have been successfully implemented as blast-resistance and blast-mitigation retrofit solutions on a variety of structures and infrastructure components. Hardwire reinforcements made from ultra-high-strength twisted steel-wire chords - 11 times stronger than a typical steel plate - reportedly enable end-users to upgrade interior and exterior concrete, steel or wood.

Due to the global economies of scale afforded by mass production of steel belted tires, Hardwire is said to be produced at a small fraction of the cost of typical aramid and carbon reinforcements. High-strength steel wires used in manufacturing the product are twisted together to form reinforcing steel cords twice as strong as the cables holding up the Golden Gate Bridge. In building applications, Hardwire provides high strength (up to 8 kips/in.) and high modulus (up to 30MM psi) in a thin, ductile envelope. Product developers note that the material can be molded into or onto virtually any structure or component.

Hardwire may be used on the sides of beams and girders to supply additional shear strength or wrapped around columns and beam/column joints to provide confinement and enhanced ductility for greater flexural strength. It may be applied as well on structural-steel components to increase their tension and bending capacity. A steel-belted plywood product recently developed by Hardwire, LLC is also expected to find extensive use in homeland security, safe room and military applications.

"With all the challenges we are facing today in obtaining carbon-based reinforcement systems, the Hardwire system offers a timely solution," says Jay Thomas, vice president of the Strengthening Division at Structural Preservation Systems, Inc. in Baltimore, Md. "Not only are Hardwire materials easily available, the design and installation process is simple and efficient."

In addition to economy and widespread availability, product developers note that Hardwire offers performance for blast resistance in buildings, tunnels and other infrastructure elements. According to company president George Tunis, "Initial testing conducted with the U.S. Navy and the Army's Aberdeen Proving Grounds has shown that our composite reinforcements have the potential to provide superior ballistic- and explosion-resistance at new economics." To meet the current proliferation of security demands, Hardwire offers numerous potential applications:

Retrofitting key building structures for shock/explosion resistance

Successful application of Hardwire to strengthen structural members in government and commercial facilities, including office buildings, financial institutions, and parking garages, has demonstrated that the technology offers protection in a cost-effective manner. Since Hardwire can be applied to exterior walls using available urethane, epoxy, polyurea, vinylester or cement-based adhesives and coatings, it does not affect the appearance of the structure. Also suitable for strengthening bridges, tunnels and other critical public infrastructure, the product works with common construction materials, so special training is not required to use it.

Fire-proof retrofit and strengthening of key buildings and structures

Because the product can be applied with cementitious-based adhesives, structures are upgraded without sacrificing the necessary fire rating - often a challenge with carbon-, glass- or aramid-fiber-reinforced structures requiring flammable, epoxy-based formulations.

Pipeline protection and upgrading

Pipelines in corrosive service requiring composite construction can be externally strengthened with retrofit layers of Hardwire in order to provide exterior resistance to stress (both natural and man-made). Concrete infrastructure piping can be protected and strengthened as well.

Unique modular ballistic armor systems

Testing has shown Hardwire to be an economical alternative to standard ballistic armor systems with equal performance. In concert with traditional armor components, such as ceramics or other available hardened strike-face materials, Hardwire may provide additional protection for multiple-strike ballistic scenarios. Essentially moldable steel, the product can be integrated into a wide variety of composite and plastics processes, allowing it to be mass-produced in complex geometries.

Tunis reports that the development of blast-resistant protective panels has generated great interest among U.S. military insiders, government contractors and related suppliers, as well as firms responding to an immediate need for modular protective structures. Further, Hardwire has passed initial ballistics tests that require a multi-hit of 762-caliber steel jacketed rounds in a tight geometry at a material cost that is a small fraction of the current offering and nearly half as light as steel armor.

Drawing on a 36-year military career with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Major General Norman Delbridge sees tremendous potential for Hardwire in military applications: "The ability of combat engineers to increase the strength of weakened or battle-damaged bridge beams, floors and columns to support combat vehicle loads in a matter of minutes or hours, as opposed to days, provides the tactical commander a heretofore unavailable advantage. In the same manner, the capability of Hardwire to be molded into 'battle boards' in any desired configuration provides a quick, easy and inexpensive means to armor vehicle beds and siding as well as building walls, floors and ceilings against blast and small arms fire."