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Material Measurement Laboratory / Materials Measurement Science Division

Security Technologies Group

Body Armor and Related Materials

The motivation for research activities is often due to some combination of needs that were identified through observations of fielded armor performance, development of new materials and armor structures, knowledge that operational environments are changing, and periodic examination of test methodologies. Current and recent research activities include:

Studies to investigate the relationship between high strength fiber mechanical properties and armor system-level ballistic performance.
Investigations of novel ways to characterize high strength materials.
Investigation of long-term performance of high-strength materials used in body armor, particularly to understand aging mechanisms.
Characterization of ballistic witness materials, such as clay and similar materials used to support body armor during standards-based testing.
Characterization of shear-thickening fluids (STF) that are added to textile-based armor to enhance their ability to resist perforation from some stab threats and resist deformation due to ballistic impacts.
Development of improved data analysis methods.
Development of armor conditioning protocols.
Development of models for impact-protection materials and equipment.