Does quilting improve the fragment protective performance of body armour?

The primary function of military body armour is to provide protection from fragmenting munitions and improvised explosive devices (IEDs). This is usually achieved by the use of multiple layers of woven para-aramid fabric. The resulting body armour is heavy and contributes to the burden on the dismou...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Textile research journal 2012-06, Vol.82 (9), p.883-888
Main Authors: Carr, Debra J, Lankester, Claire, Peare, Alan, Fabri, Nicolas, Gridley, Nicky
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Armed forces
Nonwoven fabrics
Protective clothing
Quilting
Studies
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The primary function of military body armour is to provide protection from fragmenting munitions and improvised explosive devices (IEDs). This is usually achieved by the use of multiple layers of woven para-aramid fabric. The resulting body armour is heavy and contributes to the burden on the dismounted soldier. Reduction in body armour mass and hence thermophysiological loading without reducing the level of protection is therefore of interest worldwide. Many manufacturers quilt the fabric component of body armour which reportedly improves fragment protective performance, however, the topic does not appear to have been explored thoroughly. In this work a preliminary study on the effect of quilting on the fragment protective performance of a commercially available woven para-aramid fabric is reported. The fragment protective performance of specimens varying in construction (1, 2, 3 and 5 layers) with three quilting regimes (no quilting, diamond quilting, square quilting) is presented and analysed.
ISSN:0040-5175
1746-7748
DOI:10.1177/0040517512436827