Anyone watching "Smash Lab" on Discovery?

[S4Lee]

The show is similar to Myth Busters, but they try and 'invent' things. In tonight's episode, they're looking to do a bomb-proof building. They're experimenting with using Rhinoliner (the spray-on truck bed lining) to protect against blasts. Though this appears as a solid, they actually tested it by stretching it to 5 times it's normal length using 500lbs of force before it broke.

They blew up 2 trucks, one with and one without the lining. The one without the lining was blown to smithereens. The bed on the one with the liner stayed remarkably intact.

Next they took a sheet of plywood and coated the back of it with the Rhinoliner. They shot the plywood with a 12-guage using birdshot from about 15ft, and though there was a hole in the plywood, from the back (where the coating was applied), you couldn't even tell it was shot! I was pretty impressed!

Next they built a cinderblock wall and coated the outside with the liner. Then they set off a blast in front of the wall. The wall stayed standing (the test wall without the coating crumbled), though the cinderbloack behind the coating was totalled. However, another test wall with the coating on the back deflected the blast fairly well (they tested about 1" of 'flex' in the wall). Coating both sides showed similar results to the wall only coated on the back.

Regardless, I was pretty impressed, and was wondering if there could be a use for this stuff in bullet-proofing applications. I don't know how heavy the stuff is, but I'm thinking it would be great to spray on (and under) Humvees and other military vehicles as an added layer of protection against blasts, but how do you guys think this type of material would hold up against common small-arm calibers? (Is this a "What caliber for RhinoLining" thread?) I'm guessing a rifle bullet would have a much more focused impact than a blast or shotgun, but do you think it could hold up? I'm also thinking of a use at a range as a backstop, something like those little boxes with targets that catch BBs and pellets from air rifles, but on a larger scale (ie, a 10' high box deflecting bullets down into the ground).

Also, how much do you think it'll be to cover my Avalanche with this stuff? I do live near Newark, you know...

 

[R.W.Dale]

The show is similar to Myth Busters

Somewhat similar save for being 77% more GHEY

 

[bogie]

Now, now... That wasn't THR material...

Of course, the show is pretty lame...

Basically, the principles involved are similar to that of how bulletproof glass is made "bulletproof." You take something hard, that's gonna shatter, and then you bond it together. In the case of the better grades of bulletproof glass, you use an "interlayer" called Saflex and alternate glass and plexi-type stuff. You put the glass on the outside. Put the whole mess in a vacuum bag, and cook it to heat it/fuse it.

When a projectile hits it, it "gives" and at the same time the force is dissipated through the breaking materials.

One of the guys a floor below me had a chunk about 3/4" thick that had been shot with a .38 Super... Pretty cool. Also had photos from bomb tests. I was standing in his cube when I heard about OK City.

 

[Fumbler]

Just a side note, Line-X (more durable than Rhino) is already used on some buildings (like the Pentagon) to make them bomb resistant.

I don't like that show. They wanted to make a tornado proof house, so they constructed a small 4 walled building and pushed it down with some huge fans...only the construction of the building was really $hitty and didn't resemble any decently built structure at all.
If they can't make something to spec to test a theory out then they've failed from the get go.

As far as Rhinoliner goes, it's not a good product. A guy I knew in college coated the entire interior of his Jeep Wrangler with a thin coat of Rhinoliner...and it was so heavy he lost 1.5" of suspension clearance at his rear wheels.
The benefits wouldn't outweigh the cost of adding the weight.
I'm willing to bet the military has already tried it...

 

[Bobarino]

their "science" in that show is ludicrous, the plans are awful an the execution of the plans is even worse. worst show on discovery. i'm just waiting for them to make a newer, better, bulletproof vest by duct taping ceramic plates to the back so you can take hits from a .308 while covering the rest of the shoppers in the mall.

Bobby

 

[jpsimms]

yeah, that was cool, stuff blowing up is neat

 

[GlowinPontiac]

the truck explosions looked a little shady to me.

the one without liner had the bed blown completely off and ripped into a thousand pieces while the cab was simply peeled open.

the one with liner had the bed bulged up a tad while the cab was shredded like newspaper. seems like they played with the placement of the charges to skew the results a tad........

 

[Sergeant Sabre]

I love Mythbusters, but don't like Smash Lab at all. Smash Lab seems like it was created just for an excuse to stage giant, pseudo-scientific explosions and mayhem.

 

[kwelz]

I love Mythbusters, but don't like Smash Lab at all. Smash Lab seems like it was created just for an excuse to stage giant, pseudo-scientific explosions and mayhem.

QFT

I love Mythbusters. Can't stand Smash lab. Although the Woman is pretty hot.

 

[Justin]

This isn't really on topic.