Ballistic protection

Protective applications Fire-fighting, cut protection, ballistics... 

The multifunctional textiles such as fashion and environmental protection, ballistic and chemical protection, flame protection are all passive systems. The smart textiles are a new generation of fibers, yams, fabrics and garments that are able to sense stimuli and changes in tiieir environments, such as mechanical, thermal, chemical, electrical, magnetic and optical changes, and then respond to these changes in predetermined ways. They are multifunctional textile systems that can be classified into three categories of passive smart textiles, active smart textiles and very smart textiles [33],... 

Anderson, C., W. Townsend, R. Markland, and J. Zook. 1975. Comparison of various thermal systems for the protection of railroad tank cars tested at the FRA/BRL torching facility. Interim Memorandum Report No. 459, Ballistic Research Laboratories. 

SwRI 93-01, Testing Requirements for Protected Aboveground Flammable Liquid/Fuel Storage Tanks, includes tests to evaluate the performance of ASTs under fire, hose stream, ballistics, heavy vehicular impact, and different environments. This standard requires pool-fire resistance similar to that of UL 2085. 

Vaulted. Vaulted tanks are installed inside a concrete vault. The vault, itself a liquid-tight compartment, reduces the fire protection requirements as the NFPA and the International Fire Code Institute (IFCI) recognize these tanks as fire-resistant aboveground storage tanks. The vault provides a two-hour fire wall, thermal protection that minimizes tank breathing losses and pollution, secondary containment, and ballistic protection. 

Refs l)Encyclopedia Britannia 2 (1952), 392-4 2)Armament Engineering (1954), 227-49 (Armor protection against ballistic attacks) 3)Collier s Encyclopedia 2 (1957), 259-68... 

Armor. Silicon carbide is used as a candidate in composite armor protection systems. Its high hardness, compressive strength, and elastic modulus provide superior ballistic capability to defeat high velocity projectile threats. In addition, its low specific density makes it suitable for applications where weight requirements are critical (11). 

A third interesting aspect of this story is that Du Pont s aramide fiber was not specifically the result of market-driven research. When this fiber was patented in 1971 there was no commercial application in view. However, within ten years, three varieties of Kevlar fiber were commercialized by Du Pont for dozens of reinforced plastic applications in radial passenger tires, belts, in protective clothing, such as gloves or ballistic and flak vests, in ropes and cables in racing kayaks and canoes, and in commercial aircraft. Thus the Kevlar fiber by no means resulted from the functional, bottom-up, approach which is sometimes considered as a major characteristic of materials science. The aramide fiber resulted from the traditional style of industrial research which was successful in the plastic era and confirms the leadership of chemistry in materials technologies. 

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