Video: Could this Innovation Keep Planes in the Sky Following an On-Board Explosion?

It’s less than two weeks since a Russian airliner was brought down over the Sinai Peninsula, the latest (if investigators’ suspicions are proved correct) terrorist atrocity involving commercial aircraft.

Despite stringent security checks (although not always that stringent) commercial airliners remain a favourite target of terrorists.

Foiling these suicidal plots has always centred on intercepting suspicious packages and passengers within the airport before passengers board their plane. If a bomb evades security staff at this juncture then only a failure to detonate will avert disaster and mass casualties.

But could that be about to change?

Earlier in the year a team of scientists at the University of Sheffield conducted a series of explosions to test a bag that is designed to absorb the impact of a powerful bomb blast in a plane’s luggage hold. The innovation, which would house all luggage in the cargo hold area, raises the astounding possibility that planes could remain airborne after the detonation of a bomb during a flight.

Made up of four fabrics including a Kevlar-like material used on bulletproof vests,FLY-BAG2’s bomb-proof lining successfully contained both flying shrapnel and the shockwaves to such an extent that the aircraft’s fuselage remained intact.

The combination of fabrics means the lining can withstand shockwaves moving at 20,000mph (32,187 km/h) and gases reaching temperatures of 3,000°C.

You can see the FLY-BAG2 subjected to explosions in this video hosted on the BBC’s website.

The video below shows tests conducted on a similar product from Tel-Air International.

Dr Tyas, who led the research at the University of Sheffield’s Department of Civil and Structural Engineering, explained how the technology works.

“Key to the concept is that the lining is flexible and this adds to its resilience when containing the explosive force and any fragments produced. This helps to ensure that FLY-BAG acts as a membrane rather than as a rigid-walled container which might shatter on impact.”

“We have extensively tested FLY-BAG prototypes at the University of Sheffield’s blast-testing laboratory, but the purpose of these tests was to investigate how the concept works in the confines of a real aircraft and the results are extremely promising.”

It looks like the idea was patented in 2011, though perhaps this is a rival innovation.

FLY-BAG2 facts

FLY-BAG2 mitigates four separate effects resulting from a typical bomb:

1. Strong, flexible composite material withstands shockwaves travelling at 20,000mph (32,187 km/h).
2. Heatproof-coating can contain fiery gases of up to 3,000°C.
3. Can expand to cope with release of gases from a bomb blast, without tearing
4. Tough enough to contain flying shrapnel such as metallic, sharp fragments from suitcases

An internal ‘elastomeric coating’ and the fabric is impregnated with Shear Thickening Fluids (STF). Highly flexible elastomers are also used in adhesives and other materials that have to withstand considerably strain.

This means the bag can expand rapidly without tearing.

The bag’s yarn is also coated with an STF, which thickens when the fabric is strained because of shearing forces between the yarns. This temporarily stiffens the fabric, reducing distortion.

This gives the material enough strength to contain hard, jagged pieces of flying shrapnel such as wheels and metal fragments from suitcases.

The technology was tested on disused Boeing 747 and Airbus 321 planes at Cotswolds Airport, near Cirencester.

Correction: This article was corrected on 30 November 2015 to make clear that the video actually features a different product to the one discussed in the article. Before this date the article erroneously indicated that the video showed the product discussed within the article – FLY-BAG2

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