4 - Fabrics and composites for ballistic protection

Abstract

Diverse personnel wear personal protective equipment that prevents injury, for example, military personnel, police officers, and security guards. This equipment includes body armour and helmets; exactly what these items protect the user from is dependent upon the threat analysis that has been conducted (Lewis, 2006; Croft and Longhurst, 2007a,b). Body armour provides protection to the critical organs of the torso; these are usually defined as the heart, lungs, liver, spleen and kidneys, although exactly what is protected may differ among users and is related to the tasks they perform and the risk analysis conducted (Tobin and Iremonger, 2006; Dixon and Croft, 2007). Military body armour generally protects the user from fragments, which are the major cause of injury in general warfare, and from high-velocity (rifle) bullets (Ryan et al., 1991; Breeze et al., 2011; Horsfall, 2012; Carr and Lewis, 2014). Fragments may originate from traditional munitions, for example, artillery shells, mortars and grenades, or from improvised explosive devices (IEDs). In comparison, police body armour provides protection from sharp weapons and low-velocity (handgun) bullets; although some officers additionally wear protection from high-velocity (rifle) bullets (eg, Authorised Firearms Officers, Specialist Firearms Officers) (Tobin and Iremonger, 2006; Croft and Longhurst, 2007a,b; Horsfall, 2012; Carr and Lewis, 2014). Military personnel also wear helmets; these provide protection to the brain from fragments and nonballistic impacts (Breeze et al., 2013; Carr et al., 2014). Some specialised military and police personnel may wear helmets that provide a level of protection from bullets. This chapter summarises the fabrics and composites used in typical personal ballistic protection, discusses failure mechanisms and provides references for further sources of information.