Elastomeric Coating Bag Which Can Protect Planes from Bombs in Passenger Luggage Designed

Academicians from the University of Sheffield working within University spinout company Blastech Ltd and an international team of scientists have designed a bag, which can protect planes from bombs in passenger luggage.

The bag, named the Fly-Bag, features multiple layers of novel fabrics, composites and coatings and is designed to be filled with passenger luggage and then placed in the hold of a plane. If there were a bomb in the luggage in the bag which exploded during the flight, the resulting blast would be absorbed by the bag due to its complex fabric structure, preventing damage to the plane. Fundamental to the design of the bag is the internal elastomeric coating and impregnation of fabric with Shear Thickening Fluids (STF).


STFs work by increasing in viscosity in response to impact. Under normal circumstances, the particles in STFs repel each other slightly, however following sudden impact, the extra energy in the system proves stronger than the repulsive forces, causing the particles to clump together in structures called hydroclusters, which bump into each other, consequently thickening the fluid.