Protective clothing technology

The personal security of our citizens also benefits directly from science and technology. Our police forces are equipped with light, strong bulletproof vests made of modem synthetic materials, and fire rescue personnel wear protective clothing made from temperature-resistant polymers. The smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors in our homes are based on chemical processes that detect dangerous substances. Personal security is enhanced in the broadest sense by water purification and by the chemical testing procedures that assure us of clean water and food. 

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. 

The technology used by the military has been adopted by industry to provide protection to workers against hazardous vapors and gases that may be encountered in certain industrial processes. As with the military, this involves individual protective respiratory devices, air treatment filters, and protective clothing. Depending upon the nature of the hazard, the carbons may be impregnated to enhance their ability to remove the toxic species. 

FIGURE 8.4 Design of MTR SPM protective composite fabric. (Wijmans, J.G. and Gottschlich, D.L., 1997, Protective clothing based on permselective membrane and carbon adsorption. Membrane Technology and Research, Inc.)... 

Truong, Q. and Wilusz, E., 2006. Materials technologies for next generation chemical and biological protective clothing. International Nonwovens Technical Conference, Conference Proceedings, September 25-28, Houston, TX. 

Efforts in this area include protective clothing, protective masks, air purification, and shelters. The effective level of protection and the capabilities of the fielded equipment will increasingly depend on the transition of new materials and processing concepts to manufacturing. Successful utilization of nanoscale materials technology is expected to result in a significant improvement in warfighter protection over that provided today. A number of scenarios in the four worlds of 2030 are shown in Fig. 3.1. 

Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Section 11, Water and Environmental Technology, Volume 11.03 Atmospheric Analysis Occupational Health and Safety Protective clothing, ASTM, 1998, 1122 pp. 

Chen Lei, et al. 2010. Flame retardant protective clothing test standard of comparison analysis [J]. Journal of textile science and technology progress, 10(04) 33-38. 

Li Lijun Li Feng. 2009. High temperature resistant flame retardant protective clothing research progress [Jl. Journal of fire control technology and product information, 09(04) 88-91. 

Miao Yong. Common labor protection clothing new material application [J]. Science and technology, 07(20) 309-344. 

Zhang Zhongbin, et al. 2011. Protective clothing commonly used high and low temperattire heat insulation performance study [J]. China safety scierute aruJ technology, ll(8) 56-60. 

Yu S, Strickfaden M, Crown E, Olsen S. Garment specifications and mock-ups for protection from steam and hot water. In Performance of protective clothing and equipment emerging issues and technologies, vol. 9. West Conshohocken, PA American Society for Testing and Materials 2012. p. 290-307. ASTM STP 1544. 

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