Textiles and Light Industrial Science and Technology (TLIST) Volume 3, 2014

DOI: 10.14355/tlist.2014.03.007

http://www.tlist-journal.org

Recent Trends in Ballistic Protection

L Wang1, S Kanesalingam2, R Nayak3 and R Padhye4
School of Fashion and Textiles, RMIT University, Australia
lijing.wang@rmit.edu.au, 2sinnappoo.kanesalingam@rmit.edu.au, 3rajkishore.nayak@rmit.edu.au,
4rajiv.padhye@rmit.edu.au
*1

Received 10 April, 2014; Accepted 25 April, 2014; Published 25 June, 2014

2014 Science and Engineering Publishing Company

Abstract
There has been a tremendous improvement in the design of
ballistic protective materials, which have been in use from
time immemorial. Developments in the technology of
manufacturing high performance fibres and production
processes have enabled the production of light weight body
armour with improved protection levels. In this article we
summarise different types of body armour used for ballistic
protection and different materials and structures used for
body armour. In addition, the test methods used for the
evaluation of ballistic performance are also outlined.
Government regulations related to the manufacturing and
use of protective clothing and the methods of testing in
several countries of the world have also been described. The
future scope focuses on important materials, their selection
criteria and parameters are to be considered when designing
ballistic protective materials.
Keywords
Body Armour; Ballistic Material; Textile Structure; Technical
Fibre

Introduction
Protective armour has been used in combat for at least
five millennia. Protective armour has undergone
tremendous changes from the skins, furs and metals
used in ancient times to recent advanced materials
with enhanced performance levels. Some of the
earliest designs of textile based soft body armour for
ballistic protection used woven fabrics made from silk
(Bunning et al., 1994, Cheeseman and Bogetti, 2003),
which were later replaced by nylon 6, 6 (Prosser, 1988,
Lim et al., 2003, Brown and Egglestone, 1989). These
fibres all have high tensile strength and low elongation
required for soft body armour. Recent materials for
ballistic protection use yarns of even stronger high
performance fibres, such as aromatic polyamides
(Guoqi et al., 1992, Cheeseman and Bogetti, 2003,
Laible, 1980a, Briscoe and Motamedi, 1992, Baker,
2005), ultra high modulus polyethylene-UHMPE

(Grujicic et al., 2008, Xu and Farris, 2007, Chabba et al.,

2007, Marissen et al., 2010, Tao and Guanxiong, 2002),
poly (para-phenylene benzobizoxazole)(PBO) (Cunniff,
1999, Holmes et al., 2009), ballistic nylon (Cunniff,
1992, Graves et al., 2004), which dissipate energy and
transfer it from the point of impact of a projectile
across the fabric layers by stretching and breaking
(Scott, 2005).
Generally, ballistic protection is needed for law
enforcement and military personnel. Ballistic
protection garments cover mainly the torso and other
essential parts of the body to resist projectiles of
various shapes, sizes and impact velocities (Adanur,
1995). Many of the materials used in ancient times for
ballistic protection were made from metals and thus
were very heavy. Advancements in textiles have made
it possible to produce armour for ballistic protection
with equivalent or better performance than their
metallic predecessors. The use of textile materials has
multiple benefits such as lower weight, improved
comfort, flexibility of body movement and ease of
manufacturing for different body sizes. Ballistic
protective clothing is designed on the basis of the type
and level of threat to be resisted (Scott, 2005). Clothing
used for ballistic protection can be somewhat heavy
and constrain body movement to some extent.
However, while designing body armour, an optimal
balance between protection and mobility should be
maintained.
In this review, we have focused on recent
developments of ballistic protective materials and the
different designs used for modern body armour.
Various types of body armour used for ballistic
protection are also highlighted. Different fibre
materials and the structures used for ballistic
protection have also been discussed. In addition, the
test methods used for the evaluation of ballistic
performance are also outlined.

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Textiles and Light Industrial Science and Technology (TLIST) Volume 3, 2014

Types of Ballistic Protective Materials

armour systems consisting of layers of ceramics and

fabrcs bonded together have also been developed. The
layers that form the hybrid armour serve specific
purposes in preventing projectile penetration. The
function of the ceramic composite facing is to flatten or
fragment the tip of an incoming projectile, thereby
distributing the load over a large area and decelerating
the projectile.

Modern body armour can be broadly divided into two

categories, which are hard body armour and soft body
armour, depending on the type of material used.
Generally, the protection level of hard body armour is
greater than that of soft body armour. However, hard
body armour is generally heavier to wear and
provides less flexibility in body movement than soft
body armour. Law enforcement officers and military
personnel may wear hard body armour when there is
a high level of threat. In general, for day-to-day use,
soft body armour is preferred as it is generally more
flexible and provides adequate protection.

Some hard armour can also consist of multilayers of

steel in addition to the ceramic plates and stiff fibrereinforced materials (beyli et al., 2007). The main
disadvantages of the steel containing hard body
armour remain heavyweight and inflexibility.

Hard Body Armour

Soft Body Armour

As the name indicates, hard body armour is made

from rigid materials such as ceramics, reinforced
plastics, metal plates and composites. Standard hard
body armour is made with multiple layers, commonly
including ceramic plates (to blunt and fracture
projectiles) and laminated composite panels (to stop
projectiles). Hard body armour may include an antitrauma layer too, which reduces the potential injury
caused by dynamic deformation of the armour into the
wearers body.

Soft body armour consists of several layers of high

performance materials produced from ballistic fibres.
High-strength and low extension, i.e. high modulus,
are the most important properties of these fibres
(Dingenan and Verlinde, 1996). The fibres are formed
into advanced woven or other fabrics or similar
structures that can be sewn to make vests and other
soft clothing.

Hard body armour may be hard enough so that a

bullet or other high velocity fragment is deflected on
impact. Advances in ceramic/composite armour
materials have resulted in lightweight body armour
systems that provide a significant amount of
protection (Medvedovski, 2010). However, increasing
threats in the form of large calibre and armourpiercing rounds have led to a need for increased levels
of protection. In theory, the thickness of existing body
armour could increase up to the point where an
armour piercing round would be defeated. However,
the necessary increase in the weight of the armour to
achieve the required performance level may not be
acceptable.
Hard body armour absorbs the energy of the projectile
by a plastic deformation mechanism by dissipating the
kinetic energy of the projectile through the fracture of
the hard material in the armour. Ceramics are
considered to be important materials for improved
armour. However, the amount of protection by
ceramics alone is limited. Hence, ceramic armour
hybrid systems have been developed, which consist of
a monolithic ceramic or a composite ceramic-metal
body form covered with ballistic nylon and bonded to
a high performance textile fabric. Similarly, the hybrid

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Soft body armour with adequate ballistic protection is

preferred due to their flexibility, lightweight and
comfort properties. Several researches on soft body
armour have investigated the behaviour of fibres,
yarns and fabrics during ballistic impacts (Vives, 1993,
Karahan, 2008, Bilisik and Turhan, 2009, Jin et al., 2010,
Kaufmann et al., 2003, Singletary and Bogdanovich,
2000, Sinnppoo et al., 2010). In addition to the fibre
type and its performance, the degree of ballistic
protection depends on the yarn properties, fabric
construction, and the number and type of layers used
in the structure. The type of bullet (FIG. 1), bullet
geometry, velocity and impact angle also affect the
protection level of soft body armour (Karahan, 2008,
Cheeseman and Bogetti, 2003).

FIG. 1 TYPES OF AMMUNITION (BULLETS)

(ENCYCLOPEDIA, 2014)

Textile structures used in soft body armours include

woven fabrics (Cunniff, 1992, Gu, 2003, Nilakantan et
al., Duan et al., 2006b), unidirectional fabrics (Karahan,
2008, Grujicic et al., 2008, Chabba et al., 2007),

Textiles and Light Industrial Science and Technology (TLIST) Volume 3, 2014

nonwoven structures (Laible, 1972, Lin et al., 2005, Lin

et al., 2009) and fibre-reinforced composites
(Iremonger and Went, 1996, Naik and Shrirao, 2004,
Gower et al., 2008). These fabrics are used either with
or without resin matrices to enhance the performance
of a composite structure. Woven fabrics made by
interlacing warp and weft yarns are commonly used
structures for ballistic applications. Dynamic
mechanical properties of the constituent fibres and the
fabric geometry affect the ballistic performance.
Generally, densely woven square plain weaves, twill
weaves (FaurCsukat, 2006, Hosur et al., 2005), satin
weaves and derivatives of these (FaurCsukat, 2006,
Chu and Chen, 2010) are widely used for ballistic
fabrics. The plain weave structure exhibits the highest
level of fabric tightness, followed by twill and then
satin weave (Hu, 2004). In addition, the dimensional
stability of plain weave fabrics is the highest among
the three basic structures. The fabric cover factor is an
important parameter and a value in the range of 0.6
0.95 is essential for ballistic applications (Scott, 2005).
When the fabric cover is below 0.6, the fabric is too
loose for ballistic protection and when it is greater
than 0.95, it is extremely difficult to weave the fabric.
In some instances the protection level can be improved
by increasing the density with multiple layers of the
same fabrics.
Roylance et al. (Roylance et al., 1973), investigated the
effect of fabric structure (plain and 2/2 twill weaves)
and fibre properties on ballistic performance. The
fabrics made from lower thread densities had less
ballistic resistance, as bullets did not dissipate energy
to break the yarns, instead of pushing the yarns
laterally out of the way. The effect was more severe,
when the bullet size was small and the velocity was
high (Prosser et al., 2000, Montgomery et al., 1982, Lee
et al., 1994). Zhang et al. (Zhang et al., 2008) designed
soft body armour with 28 uniform layers of woven
Kevlar fabric of 0.25 mm thickness. It was predicted
that the computed residual speed and the residual
kinetic energy of a projectile would increase with a
decrease in the ballistic testing frame size for the
armour bonded to rigid frame bars that held the
armour in place in ballistic experiments. This
indicated that the armour fixed to a smaller testing
frame had a lower V50 (the speed of a standard
projectile that has 50% estimated probability of just
perforating the armour upon normal impact) than that
of the same armour fixed to a larger testing frame. The
effect of the applied clamping pressure (to the bars of
the two- and four-bar frames) on the speed and kinetic

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energy of the residual projectile was studied. The

residual velocity of the projectile was found to
increase with an increase in the applied clamping
pressure for both the two- and four-bar frames.
In woven fabrics, yarn crimp negatively affects the
ballistic performance. The crimp refers to the amount
of bending that is done by thread as it interlaces with
the threads that are lying in the opposite direction of
the fabric. During a ballistic impact, the load from the
projectile applies some tension to the yarns. This
tension is applied in the fabric plane as well as in the
vertical direction to the fabric plane due to the crimp.
The load in the vertical direction to the fabric plane is
directed towards the back of the panel, which causes
the yarn to displace towards the back of the fabric
panel more, resulting in deeper trauma (Freeston and
Claus, 1973). The inter-yarn friction also affects the
ballistic protection (Duan et al., 2005, Duan et al.,
2006a). Higher inter yarn friction makes movement of
the yarns in the fabric plane more difficult and this
tends to slow down or stop a projectile.
The effect of crimp on ballistic performance was
investigated by Tan et al. (Tan et al., 2005) using
modelling techniques. Unidirectional structures were
postulated by placing warp and weft sets of yarns at
right angles (90) on top of each other and these two
sets of threads were assumed to be joined by using an
adhesive polymeric film. Unidirectional structures
were also postulated by placing the warp and weft
sets at angles different from 90. In this type of
unidirectional structure, in which there was no
interlacing and crimp, it was calculated that the
majority of the impact stress should be dissipated in
the fabric plane and a lower amount would be
transmitted to the back of the fabric layers, resulting in
reduced trauma.
During a ballistic impact, the weft yarns may break
before the warp yarns due to the selection of preferred
yarn and fabric engineering parameters. To overcome
this effect, Chitrangad (Chitrangad, 1993) used the
concept of hybrid fabrics by using higher tenacity
yarns in the weft. The hybrid fabrics delayed yarn
deformation and hence gave improved protection.
Modelling and Simulation
Computational simulation using finite element (FE)
analysis is a very useful tool to study the effect of
material and architecture on the ballistic performance
of the fabrics. The predictive capability of a FE model
for fabric can be improved by incorporating statistical

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Textiles and Light Industrial Science and Technology (TLIST) Volume 3, 2014

material data into the computational analysis (Nayak

and Padhye, 2011). For a given impact velocity, the
distribution/scatter in the residual velocity of a
projectile can be calculated and compared to the
experimental results. The performance of fabrics
which comprises of different materials and structures,
together with various types of projectiles can be
investigated with FE methods, savings in time and
costs associated with preliminary experimental testing
(Nilakantan et al., Lim et al., 2003, Tan and Ching,
2006, Zeng et al., 2006, Porwal and Phoenix, 2005).
FE models can also be used to simulate ballistic tests,
and predict performance of body armour from
different designs and fabrics. Several researches
simulated the ballistic performance using the FE
model (Nilakantan et al., Lim et al., 2003, Tan and
Ching, 2006, Zeng et al., 2006, Porwal and Phoenix,
2005). In addition, computer simulation can also be
used to suggest the performance of protective armours
in combat situations (Billon and Robinson, 2001, Zaera
et al., 2000).
Textile Fibres used for Ballistic Protection
As already mentioned, the introduction of new fibres
in 1970s created new frontiers in the production of
bullet proof soft body armour. Subsequent
developments in high performance fibres were the
driving force for achieving improved body protection
against ballistic threats.
The fibres used for ballistic protection should have:
low density, high strength and high energy absorption
capability. The ballistic performance of a material
depends on its ability to absorb energy locally and to
distribute it across a whole structure. For textile fibres,
the tenacity and elongation at rupture, the sonic
velocity (the velocity of sound in textile) of the fibres
are important parameters determining the protection
that they can provide (Jacobs and Van Dingenen, 2001).
Recent body armour designs use fibres such as aramid
(Kevlar,
Twaron
and
Technora),
high
performance polyethylene (HPPE- Spectra and
Dyneema), poly(p-phenylene-2,6-benzobisoxazole)
(PBO- Zylon), and high strength nylon. TABLE 1
indicates the features of the fibres currently in use for
the production of soft body armour.
A brief outline of different high performance fibres
used for ballistic soft armour is given below.
Kevlar: This fibre was developed by Dupont in 1965
and is the registered trademark for para-aramid (paramid) fibres (Yang, 1993). This high strength
40

material was first commercially used in the early 1970s

to replace steel wires in racing car tyres. It has then
been used for protective clothing, especially for lightweight body armour. Kevlar fibres are produced
from poly-paraphenylene terephthalamide and consist
of long molecular chains. The high degree of
allignment of the molecular chains results in its unique
properties, such as high tensile strength, low
elongation at break, high modulus, high chemical
resistance, low thermal shrinkage, high toughness,
dimensional stability and flame resistance. In addition,
it has a high tensile strength-to-weight ratio, but low
flexibility. Its comfort properties are generally poor.
TABLE 1 DETAILED INFORMATION ON THE TEXTILE FIBRES USED FOR
BALLISTIC PROTECTION

Fibre name Type

Company

Kevlar

paramid

Twaron

pAkzo Nobel
aramid (now Teijin)

Technora

paramid

Chemical structure

DuPont

Teijin

Allied Signal
(now
Honeywell)
DSM and
Dyneema HPPE
Toyobo
Specta

Zylon

HPPE

PBO

C
n

N
O

H
N

Toyobo

Ballistic
Polya
DuPont
Nylon
mide
(Nylon 6-6)
Polyhy
Akzo Nobel
droqui
(now
noneMagellan
M5
diimid
Systems
azopyr
International)
idine

(CH2)6

O
(CH2)4

C
n

The first generation of bullet resistant fabrics was

produced from Kevlar 29, which was replaced in 1988
by Kevlar 129. The latter offered increased protection
against high-energy projectiles. Some other Kevlarbased products were also developed by DuPont with
unique features, which were in use for ballistic
protection.
Twaron: This is another para-aramid fibre like
Kevlar, but developed by Akzo Nobel (now Teijin
Twaron) (Dobb and Robson, 1990). It has good heatresistance and high tensile strength. A vest made of
Twaron CT microfilament is 23% lighter than its
aramid counterpart. Twaron fibres are composed of
a large number of fine microfilaments, this structure
enhances its capacity to absorb impact in protective
fabrics.

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Technora: It is also a para-aramid fibre developed by

Teijin (Ozawa, 1987). It is useful for applications that
need high strength and chemical resistance. In
addition to ballistic protection, it is also used to make
cables and ropes.This fibre also has good fatigue
resistance, dimensional stability and high heat
resistance.

World War for airmens flak jackets. Ballistic nylon

fabric was designed to protect wearers from flying
debris generated by bullet or artillery shell impacts.
The fibre had a high degree of crystallinity, high
tensile strength and low elongation. Until recently, it
was still being used for ballistic applications in
combination with other high performance fibres.

Spectra: This is an ultra-high-molecular-weight

polyethylene (UHMWPE) fibre, manufactured by
Allied Signal Inc. (now Honeywell). It is a
thermoplastic polyethylene (PE) fibre with extremely
long molecular chains, the molecular weights of which
range from 2106 to 6106 g/mol. The long molecular
chains transfer loads more effectively to the polymer
backbone, and this results in a very tough material,
with the highest impact strength of any of the
thermoplastic fibres that are available up to now (Stein,
1988). It has extremely low moisture absorption, low
coefficient of friction and very high abrasion resistance.
UHMWPE has a specific strength, which is 40%
greater than that of aramid fibres.

The new fibre M5 produced by Magellan Systems

International (USA) creates a new horizon for body
armour. This fibre is based on diimidazo pyridinylene
(dihydroxy) phenylene, and can enable the weight of
soft body armour to be reduced by 42% compared
with Kevlar KM2. In future, M5 may be widely
used as a reinforcing fibre in hard armour backing
composites.

Dyneema: It is also a UHMWPE fibre similar to

Spectra. This fibre has an extremely high strength-toweight ratio and can float on water due to its low
density. The other feature is its high-energy absorption
capability, which enables it to dissipate the shock
waves generated by an impact faster than other
ballistic materials. The various types of Dyneema
fibres are SK25, SK6O, SK65, SK66, SK71, SK75 and
SK76. These fibres are aligned and bonded into sheets
for personal body armour and can be arranged at
different angles to give the required strength in all
directions.
Zylon (poly(p-phenylene-2,6-benzobisoxazole, PBO)):
Zylon was developed by SRI International in the 1980s
and is now commercially manufactured by the Toyobo
Corporation. It has high tensile strength, which is 1.6
times higher than Kevlar. Zylon can be used where
very high strength combined with good thermal
stability is required. The modulus of these fibres is
almost double that of p-aramid fibres and the
decomposition temperature is about 100C higher than
that of p-aramid fibres. Body armour made with
Zylon is lighter, more comfortable and stronger than
products made from aramid fibres. However, the
tensile strength degrades under certain extreme
environmental conditions, such as high ultra violet
radiation.
Ballistic Nylon (Nylon 6-6): This polyamide fibre was
originally developed by DuPont during the Second

In addition to the above fibres, there is published work

on the use of natural fibre composites for ballistic
protection (Wambua et al., 2007). However, they can
not match the performance of synthetic fibres. They
may be incorporated into body armour to improve
wearing comfort because of their moisture absorption
properties.
FIG. 2 gives a comparison of the strength and modulus
of different fibres used for soft body armour. Some of
the properties of the textiles fibres used in ballistic
protection fabrics are given in TABLE 2.

FIG. 2 COMPARISON OF STRENGTH AND MODULUS VALUES

OF DIFFERENT HIGH PERFORMANCE FIBRES [SPECIFIC
TENSILE STRENGTH VS. SPECIFIC MODULUS; SPECIFIC
TENSILE STRENGTH = STRENGTH/DENSITY; SPECIFIC TENSILE
MODULUS = MODULUS/DENSITY; DATA FROM VARIOUS
SOURCES (Scott, 2005, Hearle, 2001)]

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Textiles and Light Industrial Science and Technology (TLIST) Volume 3, 2014

TABLE 2 PROPERTIES OF THE FIBRES USED FOR BALLISTIC PROTECTION

Tensile strength Elongation

Density
(MPa)
(%)
(g/cc)
Kevlar 29
3400
3.5
1.44
Twaron
3600
2.5
1.44
Technora
3100
4.4
1.39
Dyneema SK60
2700
3.5
0.97
Spectra
3000
3.5
0.97
Zylon
1800
3.5
1.54
Ballistic nylon
2100
19.0
1.14
Source: Textiles for Protection, R A Scott, Woodhead Publishing,
Cambridge (UK)
Material

Mechanism of Protection
The principles on which the ballistic protective
materials work can be broadly divided into two
categories that are (1) absorption of impact energy and
(2) redistribution of impact energy (Karahan, 2008). A
protective material should absorb the energy of a
projectile before it completely penetrates the material.
Energy absorption is achieved by stretching,
compressing or destroying the material. In other
words, the principle on which body armour operates
is based on the rapid conversion and dispersion of the
kinetic energy from a striking bullet into strain energy
within the ballistic body armour (Cooper and Gotts,
2005). The protection provided by body armour is
achieved by three different methods namely:
i)

The armour decelerates and stops theballistic

projectile by dissipating its kinetic energy
along the plane of the material impacted;
ii) The armour completely bounces the projectile,
which is very rare; and
iii) A possible combination of the above (i) and (ii).

When a bullet strikes a fabric, or a number of layers of

fabric, two waves, namely longitudinal and transverse
waves, are propagated from the point of impact on the
outer surface. The longitudinal wave travels in the
plane of the fabric and the transverse wave propagates
perpendicular to the fabric (FIG. 3). As the tensile
waves propagate away from the impact point, the
material behind the wave front moves towards the
point of impact, which is deflected in the direction of
motion by the impacting bullet. The velocities at which
the longitudinal and transverse waves are propogated
in the ballistic panel during an impact of a projectile
are dependent on the energy absorption capability of
the fabric layers. The shock wave affecting the ballistic
structure propagates at higher speeds in materials
with higher modulii and lower weights per unit area
(Laible, 1980b). The major parameters that affect the
way in which impact energy is dissipated are

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dependent on the tensile strength of the fabrics and

yarns, the fabric structures and the number of layers of
fabric.
During an impact of a bullet, the fibres in the fabric
absorb and disperse the impact energy, which is
transmitted to the armour from the projectile, causing
the bullet to deform or to mushroom. Each successive
layer in the vest absorbs energy, until the bullet is
stopped (FIG. 3). The energy spreads across the
surface of the armour at a tremendous speed, which
can be up to 900 m/s.

FIG. 3 THE MECHANISM OF BULLET PENETRATION IN AN

IMPACT (Scott, 2005)

In the case of hard body armour, metal and reinforced

plastic provide protection by partially bouncing the
bullet as well as absorbing the impact energy. Upon
impact, the impact pulse on the surface of the armour
is reflected as a tensile wave. When the amount of
tensile stress exceeds the tensile strength of the armour
material, fractures occur leading to mechanical failure
of the hard body armour and the creation of a hole. If
the magnitude of the stress pulse after the fracture still
exceeds the tensile strength of the material, multiple
fractures can occur. If the material is driven beyond its
elastic limit as the applied load increases, the material
becomes plastic.
As indicated in FIG. 3, impact of a projectile produces
a cone shaped deformation in layers of protective
fabric, As an impact progresses, the radius and height
of the deformation cone increase with time and the
cone grows as the projectile moves forward resulting
in an increase in the cone height. The variation of the
cone radius on the impact surface with time was
investigated (Naik and Shrirao, 2004). In this study,
the initial transverse wave velocity increased
significantly and then attained nearly a constant value

Textiles and Light Industrial Science and Technology (TLIST) Volume 3, 2014

during the remaining period of the ballistic impact.

The growth of the cone surface radius was found to be
almost linear with time, whereas the increse in the
cone height was nonlinear. The rate of increase in the
cone height reduced with time, which was related to
the reduction in the velocity of the projectile during
the ballistic impact.
Ballistic armour should be able to absorb and disperse
the kinetic energy of a penetrating object. The
performance of ballistic materials has been categorised
based on the kinetic energy density, which is the
incident kinetic energy per unit area as shown in
TABLE 3 (Horsfall and Watson, 2003). The materials
used and the designs selected should ensure that the
kinetic energy of the projectile is completely absorbed
by the textile assembly to prevent injuries to the body.
TABLE 3 THREAT CLASSIFICATION BASED ON KINETIC ENERGY DENSITY

(HORSFALL AND WATSON, 2003)

Type of
threat
Handgun
bullet
(0.357)
Assault rifle
bullet (AK
47)
High
velocity
bullet (SA80)

Projectile Projectile
Area
Velocity Kinetic
(mm2)
(m/s) energy (J)

Kinetic
energy
density
(J/mm2)

Armour
type

16
4

Textile

450

1032

65
(initial)
254
(final)

720

2050

45

45

Composite

940

1805

24

75

Ceramic

Performance Evaluation Methods

Velocity-based Measurements
When designing body armour, the selection of
materials should ensure that a bullet with a specific
velocity and mass is prevented by the armour from
penetration through the armour. The confirmatory test
used for this purpose is called a complete penetration
test, which is a pass/fail test. In order to pass the test,
the threshold set for a body armour to stop a bullet
should be exceeded. However, this test provides no
information about the tolerance limit above the stated
threshold which is effective in the performance of the
armour.
The standards describing the effectiveness of body
armour vary in different countries, depending on the
end use applications. The major standards recently in
use for ballistic threats are those developed in the USA
and in the European Union (EU). The US standard
drawn up by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ),

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describes four levels of threat and two subparts. These

threat levels range from Level I (very low velocity or
low mass projectiles) to Level IV (very high velocity,
high mass projectiles). There are several standards
used in the EU, of which the Euronorm standard
EN106 is the most widely used. Other standards
include the German standard (DIN 52290) and the
Czech standard (SN 395360).
The ballistic performance of armour is based on the
kinetic energy (KE = mv2, where m is the mass and v
is the velocity) of a bullet at the point of impact. As the
velocity is the key factor in determining the bullet
kinetic energy, velocity is used as the primary
independent variable in ballistic testing. Fragments
usually have low mass and hence low kinetic energy.
However, the area on which they interact may also be
very small, and this provides them with good
penetrative capability.
Kinetic energy of a bullet decreases as the distance
from a target increases and it declines rapidly after
hitting the target. Generally, it is difficult for lightweight flexible armour to protect against specific
fragmenting munitions at close range. In addition, the
mass, velocity and shape of the fragments may be
varied, and this causes problems for efficient
protection from the fragments.
Ballistic testing considers a number of factors such as
the armour, test backing materials, bullet type, casing,
powder, primer and the gun barrel. The performance
level of ballistic fabrics is tested by using standard
fragment simulating projectiles (FSP). To test soft body
armour, fabrics are mounted in special specimen
holders and the FSPs are fired with different test
velocities. Most of tests measure the velocity at which
no bullets will penetrate the armour. The pass/fail
criterion is selected based on the parameter known as
V50, which is the velocity at which 50% of the FSPs are
stopped by the armour.
V50 tests are done according to the standards STANAG
2920 and UK/SC/5449. The aim is to get three shots
that penetrate through the armour and three shots that
are stopped by the armour. The velocities for the six
shots can then be used to calculate the V50. Although
other tests such as V0 (zero penetration velocity) and
Vc (critical velocity) are used for the evaluation, for a
complete pass/fail criterion, the most commonly used
method is the V50 (Zhang et al., 2008, Porwal and
Phoenix, 2005, Nilakantan et al.). The simplistic
approach for V0 and Vc is to measure the velocity at
which no penetration will occur, as the main objective
43

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Textiles and Light Industrial Science and Technology (TLIST) Volume 3, 2014

to use body armour is to shield the wearer from any of

the projectiles.
Measuring the V0 must take into account the test
variability and variability in the performance of the
armour. As a result, a single penetrating shot can
reduce the V0 value substantially. Therefore, as the
number of shots increases, the V0 value reduces. The
V0 value can be rigorously set at a confidence interval
by using the variability and the calculated standard
deviation values. Various test standards define the
number of shots to be made to estimate the V0 for the
armour certification.
Other Parameter Measurements
In addition to velocity measurements, the other
parameters used for the evaluation of ballistic
performance include the back face signature (BFS)
bursting strength, tensile strength, weight, assembly
and construction of armour.
The level of protection provided by ballistic armour is
primarily important. However, the level of comfort
provided to the wearer is also an important parameter.
It should be comfortable enough to allow wearers to
perform their intended function and provide them
with ease of movement to quickly respond to any
situation while not becoming too hot because of the
heavy weight and poor ventelation provided by the
armour. The parameters that affect the comfort
properties of ballistic armour are its weight, flexibility
breathability and moisture management capability.
Legality
The rules and regulations controlling the use of
ballistic armour by ordinary citizens vary from
country to country. The prevalent rules applied in
some countries are discussed below.
Australia: In Australia, it is illegal to import or
manufacture body armour without the prior
authorisation from Australian Customs and Border
Protection Services. There are heavy penalties for the
possession or use of body armour by civilians without
a licence.
Canada: It is legal to wear and to purchase body
armour such as ballistic vests in all Canadian
provinces except for British Columbia, Manitoba,
Alberta and Nova Scotia (where legislation is passed
but not yet implemented). Under British Columbias
Body Armour Control Act, it is illegal to possess body
armour without a licence issued by the provincial

44

government.
United States: In most states, although the possession
of body armour is not prohibited, individuals on
probation or parole or convicted of a crime are not
allowed to possess body armour.
European Union: In the European Union (EU), import
and sale of ballistic armour are allowed, except for
special products that are developed under strict
military specifications and/or for main military usage
and provide levels of protection above NIJ level IV.
Many shops in Europe sell ballistic vests and body
armour.
Future Trends
With the advancement of technology, the types of
threats on the battlefield and in other combat
environments are changing. It is difficult to predict the
changes but the proliferation of even higher energy
weapons than currently in use seems likely. With an
increase in the weapon penetration capability, there
will be a need for new devices to be developed which
protect people against projectiles. It is perceived that
in the future the threats could be from enhanced
fragmentation munitions, and advanced body armour
should have the capability to mitigate these threats.
When designing tomorrows advanced body armour
for personnel protection, the criteria should be
lightweight and minimised bulk, as well as enhanced
thermo-physiological comfort, while permitting
tactical mobility. In addition, other factors to be
considered are survival in extreme conditions,
integration of functionality to achieve multi-role
protection with a minimum of layers, minimisation of
life cycle cost and the use of environmentally friendly
chemicals and processes. Recycling and/or easy
disposal of body armour without affecting the
environment is also important at the end of its life
cycle.
Recent developments in ballistic armour have focused
on the use of composites consisting of carbon
nanotubes and other nano materials. This is envisaged
to provide lighter weight body armour with enhanced
protection from high velocity projectiles. It is also
expected that body armour may integrate additional
functions, such as communication tool, power source,
etc.
Conclusions
Modern weapons are becoming more sophisticated

Textiles and Light Industrial Science and Technology (TLIST) Volume 3, 2014

and lethal whether they are designed to be used

against individuals or as weapons for mass
destruction. Hence, the designing of protective
clothing is really challenging for the developers and
researchers. No matter how sophisticated the weapons
become or how remotely they can be used, humans are
still likely to be needed in close proximity to targets,
to launch weapons, to take control and to hold
territory. In some instances, although a ballistic vest
may pass the test criteria, it may fail to prevent
projectile penetration as new threats may emerge. In
addition, other parameters such as extreme
environmental and weather conditions (cold, rain,
wind, sunlight, snow and dust) should be taken into
consideration when selecting material and designing
protective clothing. Otherwise adverse environmental
conditions could lead to causalities. The major aim of
modern ballistic armour should keep the combatants
alive and comfortable in addition to providing the
desired level of protection for their combat role.

The authors gratefully acknowledge various sources

for giving permission to reproduce the figures and
illustrations for this review paper .

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