blunt trauma on body armour: the bullet energy can kill you

most people believe that the job of the body armour is to stop the bullet…..extremely wrong….you can die because of the blunt trauma, the energy of the bullet is a killer most of the time….even if the bullet is stopped…

the job of a good bulletproof vest is to stop the bullet and disperse the energy of the impact the fastest way possible on the fastest surface possible, to avoid a destructive impact on key organs

this video shows a simple way how is it possible and what the theory is about: sels explanatory

Unidirectional shield has no crimp points like woven fabrics, but what is better?

According to TechFiber company, manufacturer of the patented technology FlexTech from Tempe AZ, shield technology provides better bullet resistance..

I would agree on this statement but experiences shows that it is not true depending on what kind of calibers, testing conditions etc…

I guess nobody has really a clear opinion on what is better, UD or woven fabric.

My opinion is that both can do the job but depending on the other requirements like trauma limits, testing conditions, weight limits etc one could perform better than the other…

The debate is opened.

Comments and experiences are welcome here

To review the statement from TechFiber see the link to the article from Defense Review

via Defense Review – TechFiber T-Flex SH/SA Unidirectional Ballistic Fabric with Teijin Aramid Twaron or DuPont Kevlar Aramid Fiber for Tactical Armor Carriers/Body Armor (Soft Armor Panels and Hard Armor Plates) and Vehicle Armor (Video!).

Textile World – DSM Dyneema Launches Dyneema® HB80 UD Ballistic Material For US Market

DSM Dyneema Launches Dyneema® HB80 UD Ballistic Material For US Market
The Netherlands-based DSM Dyneema has begun manufacturing its new Dyneema® HB80 unidirectional (UD) composite ballistic material at its US facility in North Carolina and made it available for shipment to armor manufacturers for military and law enforcement applications. According to the company, HB80 was developed to meet the specifications of US Army and Marines Enhanced Combat Helmet program, and offers at least 35-percent-greater fragmentation performance in combat helmets than helmets used currently by the US armed forces. In addition, the company reports, the material complies with National Institute of Justice IIIA requirements, and can provide the same level of protection in helmets used by SWAT units at half the current weight.

Dyneema HB80 also is under evaluation for use in vehicle armor applications specifying light weight and ultra-high armor performance.

Unidirectional Polyethylene Fiber Composite for Ballistic Performance by DSM Dyneema

DSM Dyneema, the manufacturer of Dyneema® ultra strong polyethylene fiber have come up with Dyneema® HB80, a unidirectional (UD) composite that meets the joint US Army and Marine challenge to increase the fragmentation performance by at least 35% of advanced combat helmets. According to the makers, Dyneema® HB80 also has the potential to provide law enforcement SWAT units with helmets offering existing protection at half the current weight. It is the latest product in an expanding series of materials being developed by DSM Dyneema to substantially lighten the load for soldiers and law enforcement. The company claims Dyneema® HB80 is the the highest ballistic performance UD material on the market which is available for shipment to armor manufacturers. Dyneema® HB80 is being manufactured at the company\’s North Carolina plant, which is undergoing substantial expansion.
Dyneema® HB80 meets the requirements for Enhanced Combat Helmet (ECH), a joint program of the US Army and Marines. In testing, helmets made with Dyneema® HB80 have demonstrated a minimum of 35% increase in fragmentation performance when compared to the helmets currently used by the US armed forces. The company is on target to significantly increase its global capacity for UD materials for personal protection (helmets, inserts and vests) and vehicle protection as part of a previously announced up to US$450 mln expansion in UD and fiber materials, the majority of which is occurring at its Greenville, N.C., facility.

DSM Dyneema introduces new ballistic tape for lightweight vehicles

New material is selected by Ten Cate in vehicle up-armoring project for Dutch military in Afghanistan

07:30 GMT, June 24, 2009 URMOND (NL) | DSM Dyneema today launched Dyneema BT10, its first commercially available product made from a novel, proprietary ballistic tape (BT) technology. The announcement was made jointly at the DVD exhibition, (Millbrook, UK), with Ten Cate Advanced Armour, who has selected Dyneema BT10 for armor upgrading on the Patria XA-188 APC commissioned by the Dutch DMO (Defensie Materieel Organisatie). The vehicles will be used by the Dutch military forces stationed in Afghanistan and delivery is expected to be completed by October 2009.

Ten Cate’s armor solution is based on a ceramic strike face backed with a combination of Dyneema BT10 and Dyneema® HB26 for optimal cost and performance balance.

“Dyneema® BT10 performed extremely well as a backing material behind the strike face armor and helped deliver a cost effective, light weight ballistic protection solution with excellent overall performance” commented Søren Gert Larsen, General Marketing Manager at Ten Cate Advanced Armour.

Ten Cate also stated that Dyneema® BT10 has been tested and certified according to NATO standards STANAG 4569 and AEP55.

Dyneema BT10 provides vehicles with optimum protection without sacrificing crucial mobility. It will allow designers and manufacturers to balance the requirements for better performing vehicles, increased payloads, and room for future weight growth at a competitive cost level and is part of a growing range of light-weight and ultra-high armor protection material solutions from DSM Dyneema.

The expanding Life Protection portfolio of DSM Dyneema will soon include a premium grade UD material which raises the performance/weight equation to a new higher level. The premium grade will be launched this week at the Institute for Defense and Government Advancement’s (IDGA) 4th annual Military Armor Protection conference in McLean, Virginia, USA.

Dyneema BT10 is the first in a new ballistic tape technology platform that offers the ballistic performance of Dyneema at a price which makes it highly competitive with aramids in many armor systems, at a weight level which outperforms aramids and approaches Dyneema HB (Hard Ballistic) products. These include UD (unidirectional) composite products such as Dyneema® HB26 that sets the standard in light weight, stand alone protection.

In-house tests have shown that Dyneema BT10 is lighter and stronger than the next best aramid based armor solution and offers many of the performance attributes of Dyneema HB26 at a slightly higher weight. Dyneema BT10 proves to be a very cost effective material for the most severe and unconventional threats emerging today. Furthermore, it is ideally suited as backing behind a strike face and as spall liner in overmatch situations.

“Our new range of ballistic tape products, led by Dyneema BT10, extends our range of vehicle protection materials,” said Robert Smulders, Global VP Life Protection for DSM Dyneema. “This gives more choice and flexibility to customers to find the protection solution with the right balance of performance, weight and cost for their needs. We anticipate that the Dyneema BT range of products will become the material of choice for a wide range of vehicle platforms that require better protection against conventional as well as the most dangerous and emerging threats today.”

DSM Dyneema is on target to significantly increase its global capacity for materials for personal protection (helmets, inserts and vests) and vehicle protection as part of a previously announced up to $450 million expansion, the majority of which is occurring at its Greenville, N.C., facility.