Demonstration/Validation of Low Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) Chemical Agent Resistant Coating (CARC)

When the Army first used the chemical agent resistant coating (CARC) system on tactical equipment in the early 1980s, it was in compliance with environmental regulations in effect at that time. However, federal and local regulations have since resulted in further restrictions in the amount of volatile organic compounds (VOC) and hazardous air pollutants (HAP) that can be emitted during the application and curing of protective coatings. The current approach to the problem is either to incur the high cost of procuring, installing, and maintaining an emission control system or to deviate from the CARC requirement and utilize a coating that meets environmental regulations but does not provide chemical agent resistance. The former approach can be economically prohibitive, and the latter approach results in a severe compromise to mission readiness. The technology to be demonstrated/validated was developed primarily under the Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) Project PP-1056, Low VOC CARC, [1] which was initiated in FY97 and was funded by SERDP through FY99. Using recent developments in polymer and pigmentation technology, the Army Research Laboratory (ARL) was successful in developing a high performance, water-dispersible (WD) CARC polyurethane topcoat. The formulation developed under the SERDP Project succeeded in meeting the VOC objective of 1.8 pounds per gallon (#/gal) and has eliminated HAPs as well. In addition to being fully environmentally compliant, the new coating shows significant performance enhancements, as evidenced by improvements in mar resistance, low temperature flexibility, and weathering durability. U.S. Patent #5,691,410 has been awarded for the WD formula that was the basis of the SERDP effort.