Damage Tolerance

HyPerComp has developed a "benign-failure-mode" capability which greatly reduces the likelihood of catastrophic pressure vessel failures resulting in injury or death. This technology has demonstrated the ability of a composite pressure vessel to survive the impact of a 50 caliber bullet round at 4,500 psi. The benefit of such a capability is readily evident in the form of increased safety for all users of high pressure fuel and oxygen storage who must operate in an environment exposing them to ballistic and other impact hazards. The decreased risk of injury due to fragmentation, explosion and "sympathetic detonation" of highly pressurized storage cylinders is of great potential benefit for the military across the board.

Side-by-Side comparison of HEI’s “Benign Failure” technology cylinder compared to a conventional SCBA type 3 cylinder with typical catastrophic fragmentation failure