Passive and active protective clothing against high-power laser radiation

Abstract

The main objective of the work described in this paper was the development of passive and active protective clothing for the protection of the human skin against accidental laser irradiation and of active protective curtains. Here, the passive systems consist of functional multi-layer textiles, providing a high level of passive laser resistance. In addition, the active functional multi-layer textiles incorporate sensors that detect laser exposure and are, by means of a safety control, able to deactivate the laser beam automatically. Due to the lack of regulations for testing and qualifying textiles to be used as laser PPE, test methods were defined and validated. Additionally, corresponding testing set-ups were developed. Finally, the gap with respect to standardization was bridged by the definition of a test procedure and the requirements with respect to laser PPE. The developments were demonstrated by a set of tailored functional passive and active laser-protective clothing prototypes (gloves, jackets, aprons, trousers) and active curtains as well as by a prototype testing rig, providing the possibility to perform the specified low-power and high-power textile test procedure.