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Reference Ballistic Chronograph for Personal Armor Characterization
Published
Author(s)
Nicholas Paulter, Donald R. Larson
Abstract
Ballistic armor is evaluated using a V50 parameter, which describes the velocity above which half the shots are expected to penetrate a given type of body armor. The greater the error and uncertainty in measuring the velocity of the bullet, the greater the uncertainty in establishing an accurate V50 value. Reproducibility between chronographs is also important for inter-laboratory comparisons of ballistic armor performance. We describe a ballistic chronograph designed to provide an estimate of bullet velocity with an associated uncertainty in the velocity measurement that is much lower than the errors and/or accuracies claimed by manufacturers of commercially available systems.
Paulter, N.
and Larson, D.
(2008),
Reference Ballistic Chronograph for Personal Armor Characterization, personnel armour systems symposium 2008, brussel, 1, BE, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=32966
(Accessed October 3, 2025)