Enhanced Body Armour Improves Ballistic Performance
October 2011
Military personel wear body armour that is often referred to as a "fragmentation vest." Although fragmentation vests provide adequate protection against shell fragments and metal splinters, they cannot stop every type of handgun round.
The main body armour currently used by Canadian soldiers and Special Forces is a Fragmentation Protective Vest (FPV). To protect against armour-piercing bullets, an FPV relies on two plates placed in its front and back pockets. These plates are made of alumina ceramic monolithic tile combined with a polymer-composite base. When other protective features are added, the armour weighs more than 10 kg and severely restricts mobility.
The development of new lightweight materials with improved anti-ballistic performance is paramount for the military of tomorrow. To reach this goal, researchers at NRCan’s CANMET Materials Technology Laboratory (CANMET–MTL), located in Hamilton, Ontario, are focusing on the development, testing and evaluation of specialized reinforced materials.
“Our laboratory is developing armour materials using pure alumina powder, alumina powder combined with nano-particles, silicon carbide and boron carbide powder,” says Jason Lo, a research scientist with CANMET-MTL. “In addition, new fabrication processes for better efficiency will be investigated.” The laboratory will also assist in the processing and evaluation of carbon nanotube-reinforced materials developed by the NRC.
In the first phase of the project, conventional alumina powder of micron to nano sizes (one millionth to one billionth of a metre) will be used to make hot-pressed test samples, which will then be evaluated for their physical properties. The second phase will see nano reinforcements combined with alumina to study their influence on ceramic processing and their eventual effects on hardness, toughness and ballistic performance. The same procedure will be done with the silicon carbide and boron carbide ceramic powder.
Partnerships Crucial to Success
This three-year project is a collaborative effort between NRCan, DRDC and the National Research Council’s Institute for Aerospace Research (NRC-IAR). NRC-IAR is the main technical coordinator for the project, and the team is being led by DRDC, which is the main evaluator of the ballistic performance of the new ceramic materials.
“Ultimately, the goal is not only to improve the ceramic protective plates for our military but also to build Canadian expertise in that field for better personal body armour,” says Manon Bolduc, a defence scientist with DRDC, located in Valcartier, Quebec.
A Promising Future
With two years left in this research project, the potential for developing a state-of-the-art, Canadian-led technology is promising. And this technology will be crucial for the future of lightweight ceramic armour materials for our armed forces and, potentially, enforcement agencies around the world.
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