Advanced body armor utilizing shear thickening fluids
AssigneeUniversity of Delaware
InventorsNorman Wagner, Eric Wetzel
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An armor composite material has been invented which contains a fabric which has been impregnated with shear thickening fluid. This invention offers a ballistic resistant material that is more flexible and less bulky than comparable, conventional ballistic fabric. The material in the alternative can be puncture resistant. The invented material offers superior ballistic performance and/or puncture resistance compared to conventional ballistic fabric-based materials of equal thickness. The invented material can be applied to applications requiring armor that is compact and/or flexible, such as body armor, protective clothing and flexible protective devices and shields, and stab resistant clothing and devices.
Claims33
A material for dissipating the kinetic energy of a moving object comprising a material which has fibers or yarns and said fibers or said yarns are impregnated with particles suspended in a solvent and said particle-solvent suspension remains in a flowable form after impregnation.
A material for dissipating the kinetic energy of a moving object comprising a material which is made of fiber or yarn and said fiber or said yarn is impregnated with a shear thickening fluid wherein said shear thickening fluid remains in a fluid form in said material.
A protective barrier of fiber material comprising a material having a plurality of high tenacity polymer fibers formed into a fabric structure wherein at least a portion of said fibers is impregnated with particles suspended in a solvent and said particles remain in a flowable form after impregnation.
A process for making the material, which comprises suspending particles in a solvent to form a shear thickening fluid and impregnating said shear thickening fluid in a yarn or fabric of a material.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.