THIS IS COOL......

[MAJOR_Baker]

Army scientists, engineers develop liquid body armor
By Tonya Johnson
April 21, 2004


ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. (Army News Service, April 21, 2004) -- Liquid armor for Kevlar vests is one of the newest technologies being developed at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory to save Soldiers‘ lives.

This type of body armor is light and flexible, which allows soldiers to be more mobile and won't hinder an individual from running or aiming his or her weapon.

The key component of liquid armor is a shear thickening fluid. STF is composed of hard particles suspended in a liquid. The liquid, polyethylene glycol, is non-toxic, and can withstand a wide range of temperatures. Hard, nano-particles of silica are the other components of STF. This combination of flowable and hard components results in a material with unusual properties.

â Å“During normal handling, the STF is very deformable and flows like a liquid. However, once a bullet or frag hits the vest, it transitions to a rigid material, which prevents the projectile from penetrating the Soldier's body,â ? said Dr. Eric Wetzel, a mechanical engineer from the Weapons and Materials Research Directorate who heads the project team.

To make liquid armor, STF is soaked into all layers of the Kevlar vest. The Kevlar fabric holds the STF in place, and also helps to stop the bullet. The saturated fabric can be soaked, draped, and sewn just like any other fabric.

Wetzel and his team have been working on this technology with Dr. Norman J. Wagner and his students from the University of Delaware for three years.

â Å“The goal of the technology is to create a new material that is low cost and lightweight which offers equivalent or superior ballistic properties as compared to current Kevlar fabric, but has more flexibility and less thickness,â ? said Wetzel. â Å“This technology has a lot of potential.â ?

Liquid armor is still undergoing laboratory tests, but Wetzel is enthusiastic about other applications that the technology might be applied to.

â Å“The sky's the limit,â ? said Wetzel. â Å“We would first like to put this material in a soldier's sleeves and pants, areas that aren't protected by ballistic vests but need to remain flexible. We could also use this material for bomb blankets, to cover suspicious packages or unexploded ordnance. Liquid armor could even be applied to jump boots, so that they would stiffen during impact to support Soldiers‘ ankles.â ?

In addition to saving Soldiers‘ lives, Wetzel said liquid armor in Kevlar vests could help those who work in law enforcement.

â Å“Prison guards and police officers could also benefit from this technology,â ? said Wetzel. â Å“Liquid armor is much more stab resistant than conventional body armor. This capability is especially important for prison guards, who are most often attacked with handmade sharp weapons.â ?

For their work on liquid armor, Wetzel and his team were awarded the 2002 Paul A. Siple Award, the Army's highest award for scientific achievement, at the Army Science Conference.

 

[stukirkpatrick]

Do they have any info about bullet penetration? Will it stop a 7.62 round or other rifle-fired bullet, or is it just the same as regular kevlar, just lighter and more applicable?

 

[Yes Man]

LoL, when I first started reading I though it would be like sunscreen. SPF 7.62...

But I would be intrested in knowing the weight of this liquid. Also I don‘t quite understand how the consept would apply to boots, but I guess I will have to wait for more reports.

 

[stukirkpatrick]

It meant that the fibre in jump boots would be treated with the liquid solution, so when they hit the ground, it causes the armour to harden, and helps protect the soldier‘s ankles.

Jump boots = paratrooper boots.

 

[Yes Man]

Do you wear you jump boots after you jump?

 

[pte anthony]

That is ******* ingenuity it amazes me what intelligent well funded people can come up with given time. It would be nice to know more about it in the ways of capabilities.

 

[scm77]

I saw this one show and it was talking about making body armour that is stronger and lighter then kevlar out of spider web stuff. The guy already modified goats so that they would give out the liquid web in their milk. They were trying to find out how to make enough of it/how to make it work right. Sounded kinda screwy.

 

[Redeye]

The material you‘re describing is called Spectra, it‘s stronger than kevlar and is used to make rockclimbing gear among other things. It‘s got something to do with spider silk, but I can‘t tell you much more than that.

 

[Ex Ranger Instructor]

"Ok, boys, it looks like it‘s about to get a bit rough around here. Bloggins! Get on that goat tit and spray us out some field expedient flak jackets!"

 

[Marauder]

Major, you have a link to that story? Or could you provide what site you got it from? I wanna know more if I can find it.

 

[Slim]

Hey Sherweood

Good post. That is amazing! I wonder if they‘ll be able to make suits and dress clothes out of it. (for persons in my field!)

Please post anything else you see on this subject.

Slim

 

[Duotone81]

I remember hearing about this stuff way back in highschool about 4 or 5 years ago from a buddy of mine. His brother was a chemical engineer graduating from waterloo and he was touring the facilities of a research and development contractor for DND and they told him about the substance. I guess they were trying to impress him so he‘d work for them. Very interesting stuff.

 

[DogOfWar]

The spectra vest is now gone. The material was attributed to a death in California of a Policeman. Im currently wearing mine until the new panels come in.....its a scary month I assure you.

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

That many cop shootings in Edmonton?

 

[Thompson_JM]

All it takes is one.

 

[bossi]

It‘s amusing - Aberdeen has simply discovered something that was published several years ago by a foreign military, and now they make it sound like they made the initial discovery ...
(sorry - I haven‘t got the energy right now to look up the other article, but it‘s several years old).
More‘s the pity that somebody‘s annual efficency report will be fluffed up to make it sound like he/she actually did some original research ... when in fact all they did was duplicate somebody else‘s work. Ethics - it‘s not just for breakfast ...

 

[Spr.Earl]

Who cares as long as it saves our lives!!

 

[finbar]

Gentlemen: The firm I work with uses "electro rheological and magneto rheological fluids" to achieve similar results. The degree of "stiffness" is controlled by the amount of electric current passing through the material. We use these fluids in vehicle suspension and ride control systems. I‘d be most interested in learning how small particles of silica and antifreeze combine to react to form a reactive system. Any help?