How Much Do You Know About Bulletproof Materials?
Originally, there were no bulletproof vests in the world, and soldiers could only avoid bullets with luck and reaction. After the emergence of bulletproof vests, they became an important equipment to protect the safety of soldiers, and all countries strive to develop them. However, bulletproof vests have both advantages and disadvantages.
How Much Do You Know About Bulletproof Materials?
Originally, there were no bulletproof vests in the world, and soldiers could only avoid bullets with luck and reaction. After the emergence of bulletproof vests, they became an important equipment to protect the safety of soldiers, and all countries strive to develop them. However, bulletproof vests have both advantages and disadvantages, and only bulletproof vests with high safety and reliable performance were widely equipped.
The most important defense object is not bulletproof vests, but the bulletproof plates or chips placed inside. These bulletproof plates come in different materials and bulletproof levels with different qualities, ranging from traditional metal plates to plastics or ceramics. Bulletproof plates with different levels can defend against different types of bullets. The higher the level, the more powerful the bullets they can defend against, from 9mm pistol bullets to .30 armor piercing bullets, and from NIJ I to NIJ IV, the bulletproof performance also increases accordingly.
The key to determine the defensive performance of bulletproof equipment is its materials. The most widely used bulletproof materials are UHMWPE, Kevlar and ceramics. While metal are used by fewer people.
1、UHMWPE
The UHMWPE bulletproof vest performs the best in all aspects. It is lighter than vest made from Kevlar. PE is a kind of thermoplastic material made by bonding unidirectional UHMWPE fibers onto high-density PE plates.
The working mode of PE bulletproof plates is very unique. When the bullet is fired, it rotates forward and generates friction while hitting the PE bulletproof plate. The PE material will be melted by friction and tightly grasp the bullet and sticks it to the bulletproof plate by instantly cooling down and hardening again.
PE is currently the lightest of the three commonly used bulletproof materials since it makes bulletproof equipment more comfortable to wear. The weight of our Longkui Armor ordinary PE plates range from 1.23kg to 1.67kg.
Different with steel plates and ceramic plates, PE bulletproof plates do not break when hit by bullets, and the damage is only to a small portion of the shot area. Therefore, the PE bulletproof plate can withstand several shots while still maintaining its defensive performance, which is also its most impressive feature. So PE bulletproof plates are the most reliable choice if the power of bullets does not exceed NIJ level IIIA.
2、Kevlar fiber
Kevlar fiber is a synthetic fiber with ultra-high tensile strength. Kevlar molecules are unidirectional and parallel to each other, which allows them to bind very tightly together, resulting in extremely high tensile strength.
Kevlar has the characteristics of being sturdy, lightweight, corrosion-resistant, rust free, and can effectively absorb vibrations, making it an ideal choice for bulletproof vests. Although it is heavier than PE materials, it is much lighter compared to metal materials.
The Kevlar bulletproof plate can achieve the highest protection level NIJ IV, effectively resisting 7.62 x 63mm AP M2 bullets, 7.62 x 51mm NATO M14 bullets, 7.62 x 39mm MSC/API AK-47 bullets, 5.56 x 45mm M193/SS109/M855 M16 bullets, and 5.45 x 39mm bullets fired from 15 meters away. On the battlefield, few people use small caliber pistol bullets, so Kevlar has become a good choice for most patrols and soldiers on duty. The Kevlar bulletproof plate usually faces 7.62mm and 5.45mm, 5.56 and other caliber rifle bullets.
3、Metal
People have been using metal for bulletproof plates for thousands of years. Nowadays, different proportions of metal are fused to make bulletproof plates, which are not easily deformed and are almost unaffected by the environment. When blocking bullets, they will not cause secondary blunt injuries like PE fiber and Kevlar fiber.
Usually, a bullet will shatter, bounced off or be squeezed after hitting a steel bulletproof plate without causing significant deformation to the steel plate. Therefore, metal bulletproof plates are widely used for soldiers and police, and are used in combination with Kevlar and PE materials.
Steel is a very hard metal, and it has excellent protective capabilities. The most impressive performance of steel bulletproof plates is that they can withstand multiple bullets in the same position. When it is hit, especially by large caliber bullets, it can cause a lot of fragments. The industrial standard is to apply multiple layers of Paxcon to steel bulletproof plates, which is a tough fabric. The Paxcon coating enable the steel plate to wrap the generated fragments inside when impacted, reducing secondary damage.
4、Ceramics
Ceramics are sometimes referred to as composite materials, and ceramics used for bulletproof plates include materials such as boron carbide, aluminum oxide, silicon carbide, titanium nitride, aluminum nitride, and syndite (synthetic diamond composite materials). Boron carbide composite materials are mainly used for ceramic plates to defend against small caliber bullets. Unlike some pure high-performance fiber plates (such as PE boards), ceramic fiber plates can withstand significant pressure without deformation.
We all know that the action of force is mutual. In order to crush bullets, ceramics are required to have sufficient hardness to counteract the kinetic energy of high-speed bullets. This means that when the bullet hits the ceramics, the force point will provide the same force to block the bullet. Ceramic materials have always been one of the most stable materials, and their special molecular structure gives them excellent creep resistance, making them more bulletproof than traditional metal plates.
Ceramic bulletproof plates are usually in the form of composite mixtures, many of which are mixed with PE or Kevlar fibers, mainly to reduce the blunt injury to the wearer when bullets are blocked. The ceramic bulletproof plate, composed of a single ceramic or ceramic metal composite material covered with nylon clothing and high-strength organic fibers, is very sturdy and can intercept bullets while ensuring mobility to the greatest extent. The ceramic plate is shattered by bullet impact, during which most of the bullet's energy will be dispersed and consumed. Ultimately, the shattered bullet will be intercepted and captured by a high-performance fiber optic bottom plate.