Defense textile

Kashif usman
Afzal Ahmad
AREAS TO COVER…….

Introduction
Areas of protection

Role of fibers and non-woven

Ballistic protection

Environmental protection

Stab and ballistic

Impact textiles

Decontamination technology

camouflage


Introduction
 Most demanding customers of textile materials in
world
 specific protective performance requirements
 battlefield, tanks, aircrafts, underwater etc.
 Also in gravitational forces during high acceleration-
deceleration,.
 The technical textiles have proved to be the major
contributor to the defense applications.
Primary areas of protection
 Ballistics protection
 Environmental protection

1.Chemical
2.biological
3.thermal protection
 flame protection
 insects and micro-organisms protection
Secondary areas
 Resistance to sun
 Resist mildew
 Water repellent
 Excellent durability
 Air permeability
Main requirements for defense textile
 Fiber type selection
 Fiber size
 Dyestuff selection
 Functional finish utilization
 For example, a particular dye or pigment needed to
meet infrared protection against detection may not
have good properties to colorfastness to laundry
Role of fibres:

 Significant impact
 Paramount is the excellent fibers available for the
ballistic protection
 Aramid and Polyethylene fibers for body armor
 M5 fibers
Role of non-wovens
 Non-woven material products
 Combat clothing and equipment
 For military use is the durability
 Reduced resulting from abrasion resistance
 Nanotechnology and electro textiles
 BALLISTIC PROTECTION:



 Fragmenting projectiles
rather than bullets
 From grenades, mortars,

artillery shells,
 Mines and improvised explosive
weapons
 Low velocity bullets from handguns
 High velocity bullets from rifles and
machine guns
Textile Fibers for Ballistic Protection
 Woven silk fabrics
 High modulus aliphatic nylon 6.6
 high degree of crystallinity
 Low elongation
 Used in body armor composite helmets
 Dyneema
Spectra
Twaron
Kevlar


Textile Fibers for Ballistic Protection

Textile Fibers for Ballistic Protection
 Kevlar widely used in the modern generation of light
weight body armors
 Twaron absorbing a bullet’s
impact and quickly dissipating
its energy through engaged and
adjacent fibers
 Spectra These fibers are 10 times stronger than steel
 DSM Dyneema It has high energy absorption
characteristics and dissipates shock waves faster
Environmental Protection:
 Protection can be classified into three major
components
1.Thermal protection
2.Chemical protection
3.Biological protection
Thermal Protection
 Entrapment of still air in the structure
 Finer fibers tend to entrap more still
air than coarse fibers for the same bulk
 Textiles have advantage of low density,
good resilience, good drape and handle, easy
care and durability
 Units of measuring thermal insulation are
warmth/thickness Tog/cm
Chemical Protection
 These effects are insidious,
lethally horrific
 Mustard attacks moist skin,
tissues and respiratory tract
causing severe blistering
 Nerve agents affect the transmission of nerve
impulses in the body
Biological Protection
 Bacteria and viruses
 Nasal or full face respirators

 Hoods and efficient seals, gloves
and over boot complete the ensemble

 Clothing is made of completely impermeable butyl
rubber materials
Impact Protection Textiles
 Protect against high energy

impacts without sacrificing

flexibility, breathability or

ease of use

 APS is an intelligent fabric

 consists of 3-D spacer textile
Impact Protection Textiles
 Fully integrated active safety that can be stitched
directly into the garments
 Material customization and
versatility that allow many creative
design possibilities
 Breathable, flexible and lightweight
construction for outstanding comfort
and freedom of movement
 Washable for easy care and maintenance
Stab & Ballistic Protection
 vests that protect their wearer
against the twin threats of
bullet and knives
 DSM’s high performance
polyethylene fiber (Dyneema)
provides ballistic protection
 Bekaert’s steel cord (Steel skin) gives the wearer
stab protection
Flames, Heat and Flash Protection
 Flame retardant material in
forces is Proban treated cotton
 Low cost
 Wide availability
 Low shrinkage in fire
 It must not be laundered with soap using hard water
Decontamination Technology
 Process of neutralizing or removing
chemical or biological agents
 Military purposes, decontamination
must restore the combat effectiveness
of equipment and personnel
as rapidly as possible
 In one of the existing technology it is
based on micro-porous membranes
 Naval Research Laboratory's Center for Bio/Molecular
Science and Engineering (CBMSE) have developed a
new cost-effective, self-decontaminating ultra thin
materials coating that actively destroys pesticides and
related chemical agents on contact
Decontamination Technology
 Coating neutralizes toxins instantly leaving no
hazardous residue, which makes it ideal for use in
protective clothing for military personnel and
civilians
 The U.S. Army Edgewood Chemical Biological
Center (ECBC) developed a patented technology
to neutralize organo phosphorus chemical agents
and pesticides
 Enzymatic decontamination technology
 DEFENZ™ is now on the market
Camouflage

 Camouflagebecame an
essential part of modern military tactics

 The word camouflage comes from the
French word ‘camoufler’ (to disguise) and
was first introduced by the French during World
War I to define the concealment of objects and
people by the imitation of their physical
surroundings, in order to survive

Camouflage Requirements
 Visual spectrum

 Ultraviolet

 Near infrared

 Far infrared

 Acoustic emissions

 Radar spectrum
Conclusion
 The general aims of future systems are

 Improve protection against natural and battlefield
threats
 Maintain thermo-physiological comfort or survival in
extreme conditions
 Improve compatibility between and within different
clothing components
 Reduce weight and bulk of materials

References
 Wellington Sears Handbook of Industrial Textiles –
Sabit Adanur
 Textiles for Protection – Ed. by Richard A. Scott
 www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_camouflage
 Impact protection becomes flexible, lightweight &
breathable, Tech Text Int., p31, May 2006
 Stab & ballistic protection combined in vest,
Technical Textiles Int., p10, Mar/Apr 2006
 Protective Clothing, Wood head Publishing, 2005
Thanking you one and all
Your thoughts and queries???