X-Flex Blast Protection System
The world’s toughest wallpaper
X-Flex is a new kind of wallpaper: one that’s quite possibly stronger than the wall it’s on. Invented by Berry Plastics in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, this lifesaving adhesive is designed for use anyplace that’s prone to blasts and other lethal forces, like in war or natural-disaster zones, chemical plants or airports. To keep a shelter’s walls from collapsing in an explosion and to contain all the flying debris, you simply peel off the wallpaper’s sticky backing, apply the rollable sheets to the inside of brick or cinder-block walls, and reinforce it with fasteners at the edges. Covering an entire room can take less than an hour.
X-Flex bonds so tightly, it helps walls keep their shape after blast waves. Two layers are strong enough to stop a blunt object, like a flying 2x4, from knocking down drywall. During our tests, just a single layer kept a wrecking ball from smashing through a brick wall. The wallpaper’s strength and ductility is derived from a layer of Kevlar-like material sandwiched by sheets of elastic polymer wrap. The combination works so well that the Army is now considering wallpapering bases in Iraq and Afghanistan. Civilians could soon start remodeling too—Berry Plastics plans to develop a commercial version next year.
Click here to see our test: X-Flex vs. wrecking ball
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Very cool, I might need some of that.
i want some just to have it
i want some just to have it
Can you make clothes out of it? LOL!
This is great stuff can't wait to play with it. And yes they do make it for clothing it is still in the testing phase.
This stuff seems amazing and it is but what would hapen if the top corner of a room where the x flex material was bolted to fell that would render the material useless and would not protect you.
Wow dude that is like way cool. I like it!
RT
www.online-privacy.at.tc
Awesome! But is it bullet proof?
I could see this being used in cars to decrease the effects of accidents to the passengers and drivers
I wonder if this could be used as a wrap around high pressure tanks, propane tanks, etc...
overall this a genius invention :)
everyone should be using this everywhere....
if I were you I would have a stash of this stuff along with a dozen rolls of duct tape
anyone who is remodeling their house should put this stuff in the walls, and paint a cpl layers over it...
IDEA!!!: How about they make this wallpaper for the common consumer, it comes in different colors/desighns and can be put seamlessly over walls
What happens when you actually want to tear the building down though? -- How do you get the x-flex off?
The x-flex is attached to the ceiling with a strong metal piece and blots. To undo it, simply unscrew the bolts.
Will it stop jetliners?
This product will have many useful applications but already sounds over-hyped. There are already many building techniques which are not used because of cost. Many current buildings do not have an adequate amount of steel or wire reinforcing built in. For many applications simply mortaring a layer of wire fabric to the inside of a brick or cinder block wall would produce much the same protection at much less cost. A few years ago I was amused when a local building was slated for demolition and could not be knocked down because of all the rebar built into the walls.
Much of the success of this product will depend on cost.
A Kevlar blanket was installed in the exterior wall of the Pentagon where the airliner hit on 9/11. Along with other reinforcing, it was extremely effective in limiting damage to the building to just a small area. X-flex works on the same principle.
What about using it in the Mid-West to counter tornadoes? It might not help too much if a tornado rips up your whole house but it could really prevent debris from taking a whole out of your living room wall.
I would kill to get this :D