Patent ID: 8752469

Claim:
An air blast wave protection device, the device comprising: (a) a layer of a first material shaped and configured to reflect a substantial portion of incident air blast wave energy comprising a shock wave originating from a high-order explosive, the layer of first material having (i) an acoustic impedance substantially mismatched to the acoustic impedance of air, and (ii) a layer thickness less than about 2 mm; and (b) a layer of a second material shaped and configured to attenuate a substantial portion of the incident air blast wave energy transmitted through the layer of the first material utilizing an inelastic response, wherein the second material comprises a yield stress to absorb an overpressure greater than about 0.1 bar, wherein the layer of the first material includes a front surface and a back surface, the layer of the second material includes a front surface and a back surface, at least a portion of the back surface of the layer of the first material is proximate to at least a portion of the front surface of the layer of the second material, and wherein the at least the portion of the back surface of the layer of the first material is acoustically coupled to at least the portion of the front surface of the layer of the second material.