International Journal of Students’ Research In Technology & Management

Vol 3 (8), November-December 2015, Pg 451-454

ISSN 2321-2543, DOI: 10.18510/ijsrtm.2015.384

Bullet Proof Vest using Non-Newtonian Fluid

Seshagiri.R*1, Vinod Vivian.G*2, Anne Miriam Alexander@3
*
U.G.Scholar, @Asst. Professor, Loyola-ICAM College of Engineering and Technology, Chennai-600034
[email protected], [email protected], [email protected]
Article History: Received on 15th July 2015, Revised on 07th September 2015, Published on 05th November 2015

Abstract—Bullet proof vests, made of Kevlar are used for Three different test samples were fabricated. Kevlar
preventing projectiles from injuring humans. Soft armours are
(Fabric type – M1100d-AT9) was used. The thickness of
capable of protecting humans from low energy projectiles while
hard-plate reinforced armours use metal plates, which weigh Kevlar used is 0.26 mm and its mass is 200 g/m2. The fabric
over 14+ kg for protection against high energy projectiles. Non- was cut into small squares of size roughly around 1 ft X 1 ft.
Newtonian fluids which have time dependent properties Sample 1 was only Kevlar tile. It was fabricated by fastening
(particularly viscosity) are prepared and tested for energy 12 layers of Kevlar. Fastening was done by using araldite and
absorbing properties. It was proved that when Kevlar was used also a stitch was provided along the ends.
with Oobleck sample, the deformation produced in test plate Sample 2 was Kevlar sandwiched with Oobleck and
was reduced considerably as compared to that of only Kevlar
sample.
sample 3 was Kevlar sandwiched with Polyethylene Glycol &
Keywords - Kevlar, Non-Newtonian fluids, Time-dependent Silica mixture. Oobleck and PEG & SiO2 mixture are the two
properties, viscosity, impact force, mobility Non-Newtonian fluids that were taken for experimentation.
Oobleck is a mixture of corn flour and water. 500 mL of corn
I. INTRODUCTION flour was mixed with 250 mL of water and stirred continuously
Body Armour is protective clothing that is used to till the desired property was achieved. The volume ratio of
protect humans from different attacks. They are mainly corn flour and water is 2 : 1. 50 mL of the fluid was transferred
used by military personnel, police, security guards and into cylindrical rubber containers and sealed. Four such
even private citizens. Currently, there are two types of containers were placed between layers of Kevlar. In total, 200
body armours – soft armour and hard plate reinforced mL of the fluid would be present in the test sample. Rubber
personnel armour. Conventional soft armours are made containers were used because they won’t allow the fluid to
using layers of Kevlar. For protection, hard plate leak, has considerable strength and are highly flexible (which
reinforced personnel armours contains metallic plates means transfers the force by deforming without being cut). 10
which weigh over 14 kg. pieces of Kevlar were fastened to make the front side while 2
Oldest known armors dates back to 1400 BC where pieces were fastened to make the rear. Rubber containers were
they were made of iron rings. These were known as mail placed between these front and rear parts. 10 layers was used
or chainmail. Greek sources mentions the use of a linen in the front because that would stop the bullet and transfer only
laminate known as linothorax. In modern days, soldiers the force to the fluid. Sample 3 was fabricated in a similar
use fibers reinforced with metal or ceramic plates. fashion but the instead of oobleck, PEG & SiO2 mixture was
Metallic components or tightly-woven fiber layers can used.
give soft armor resistance to stab and slash attacks from a B. Test frame
knife. Mail armor gloves continue to be used by butchers Frame was the structure using which testing was done. It a
and abattoir workers to prevent cuts and wounds while steel structure provided with a slot to place the test samples.
cutting up carcasses. The samples would rest on bottom plate and the back plate of
Kevlar is the registered trademark for a para-aramid the frame. The front side is open so that bullets could hit the
synthetic fiber, related to other aramids such as Nomex sample tiles. Mild Steel plates of 16 mm thickness were used
and Technora. Developed by Stephanie Kwolek at to fabricate the frame. The top portion of the frame which is
DuPont in 1965, this high-strength material was first mounted on 3 legs, consist of a slot in which the test samples
commercially used in the early 1970s as a replacement for can be inserted for testing purpose. It consists of a bottom
steel in racing tires. Typically it is spun into ropes or plate, a back plate, two side plates and two front plates. The
fabric sheets that can be used as such or as an ingredient test tiles are placed over the bottom plates. They rest on back
in composite material components. plate on their rear side. In the front, the plates would just
Kevlar is used as body armour in two types – Soft prevent the tiles from falling off. So, they are provided only
armour and hard plate reinforced personnel armour. Soft for a short length from the ends. The front side is partially
armours contains layers of Kevlar that are made into a open, whereas the top side is completely open. Front side is
form of vest. This provides protection from less powerful partially open to allow bullets to hit the target tiles. The top
weapons such as pistols. Hard plated armours uses side is completely open for placing and removing of test tiles.
military grade Kevlars like KM2 or KM129. These are Holes were made near the edges on the plates, and tapping was
special type of kevlars that are used especially for done. The frame was assembled using bolts and nuts.
armours. They have very high impact strength compared Temporary fastening was preferred because permanent
to basic ballistic grades. fastening would have made transportation difficult, since
II. TEST PREPARATION testing was done in Madurai. The net weight of the frame was
around 61 kg.
A. Samples preparation

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 International Journal of Students’ Research In Technology & Management
Vol 3 (8), November-December 2015, Pg 451-454
ISSN 2321-2543, DOI: 10.18510/ijsrtm.2015.384

III. TESTING
To determine the effectiveness of using Non-
Newtonian fluids, testing was done. Testing involved
shooting the target tiles with a weapon to find out how
efficient the samples would be in absorbing the impact.
Testing was done using a .30-30 Winchester rifle.
Initial velocity and energy of the bullet are 728 m/s and
2570 J. The barrel length of the rifle is 60 cm. The
cartridge’s weight and length are 21.3 g and 64 mm. The
mass of the projectile is 9.7 g.
Two series of tests were carried out. First was with
glasses and second without glasses. Glass tiles of varying
thickness were placed behind test tiles and tested. Glasses
TABLE 1 Results of test keeping glass behind each sample
were put in a sack individually and was inserted in the
slot of the frame along with the test tiles. Shooting was SAMPLE SAMPLE GLASS DEPTH
done from a distance of 50 m. The same test procedure NO. DESCRIPTION THCKNESS (mm)
was carried out for all the test samples. The second series (mm)
of tests were done by placing the test samples alone in the
1 Kevlar 4 2
slot without the glasses. These samples were made to rest
1 Kevlar 6 1.9
directly on the back plate of the frame and were shot.
2 Kevlar with 4 -
There were dents produced on the back plate of the Oobleck
frame when shots were made in all the tests. These dents 2 Kevlar with 6 -
were of different sizes corresponding to different test Oobleck
samples and method. The dimensions were analyzed to
find out the effectiveness of using Non-Newtonian fluids. 3 Kevlar with 4 0.8
IV. RESULTS PEG & SiO2
During the first series of tests, glasses broke in all 3 Kevlar with 6 0.38
the cases. The depth of the dent produced when direct hit PEG & SiO2
made (without any test sample or glass) was 4.22 mm.
Before the bullet strikes the back plate, the glasses would
have absorbed some amount of energy as they break. But
then as same thickness glasses were used for every Graph showing depth of various
sample, the glasses should have absorbed same energy for
fracture. So, for same thickness, it is possible to compare
dents produced in series 1 tests
the depth of the dent. 5
Depth of Dent (mm)

For 4 mm, glass plates, the depth was 2 mm for 4

3
sample 1. For sample 3, it was reduced to 0.8 mm. For
2
sample 2 (the one with Oobleck), no deformation was 1
observed. There was only marks made on the plate when 0
the bullet was hit. For 6 mm glass plates, the depth was Kevlar Kevlar with Kevlar with
1.9 mm for sample 1, whereas it was only 0.38 mm for PEG & Silica Oobleck
sample 3. Again in sample 2, there was no dent hardly
Samples
leaving any indication for a bullet hit.
Since the testing with glass did not yield the desired
4 mm glass 6 mm glass
results, testing was done with frame directly. When the
frame was hit directly, the depth of the dent was 4.22
mm. When only Kevlar was used, it was reduced to TABLE 2 Results for testing without glasses
3.9mm. When the tile with Oobleck was used, the depth
was further reduced to 2.7 mm. Sample Depth (mm)
The depth in third case was reduced by 1.2 mm.
None (Direct Hit) 4.22
Creating a dent with 1.2 mm and diameter 14 mm
requires appreciable force. That force would be a Kevlar-1
potential danger for humans. Hence, in this case, Oobleck 3.9
sample has absorbed the impact that was caused by this Kevlar with Oobleck-2 2.72
force. Also for same number of rounds, only Kevlar has
taken up more damage at the rear whereas the damage is Kevlar with Oobleck-2 2.7
comparatively less on Kevlar with Oobleck. It proves that
the tile with Non-Newtonian fluid will be more efficient
in absorbing impact than the tile with Kevlar alone.

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 International Journal of Students’ Research In Technology & Management
Vol 3 (8), November-December 2015, Pg 451-454
ISSN 2321-2543, DOI: 10.18510/ijsrtm.2015.384

Graph showing reduction

in depth of dents during
series 2 tests
6
Depth (mm)

4 4.22 3.9
2.72 2.7
2
0
Direct Sample Sample Sample
Hit 1 2 2 Figure 5 Front side test
Samples

Figure 1 Test Sample

Figure 6 Front & Rear side of sample 1 - After taking up damage

Figure 2 Dents made when second test was done

Figure 7 Front & Rear side of sample 2 - After taking damage

V. FUTURE SCOPE OF THE PROJECT

Kevlar is a material that is not readily available in our

country. The material was procured with much difficulty and
the fabrication was carried out. There are quite few aspects
that would have made our work better
First, better grade of Kevlar could have been used. For
testing, Winchester rifle was used. For absorbing the impact of
rifles, military grade Kevlar like KM2 or KM129 must be
Figure 3 Front side test used. But only basic ballistic grades were available. This
would not stop the bullet completely as a result of which the
bullet penetrated through the samples. At least if better
ballistic grades were used, the test would have given better
results.
For testing with high caliber weapons, it is recommended
that 30 layers of Kevlar must be used. But only 12 layers were
used since test was planned with low caliber weapon. While
testing, high caliber weapon was used. The projectile’s mass is
twice and velocity is also twice. So, the Kinetic Energy of the
bullet will be 8 times higher. Because of this reason, test tile
was not able to stop the bullet from penetrating. If enough
layers had been used or if test was done with low caliber
Figure 4 Front side test weapon, results would have been much more satisfactory.
Ordinary rubber containers were used for holding the fluid.
These are capable of transmitting only the force. But these
didn’t work efficiently because, the bullet itself penetrated
through them. If better containers were used, the results would
have been much better.
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 International Journal of Students’ Research In Technology & Management
Vol 3 (8), November-December 2015, Pg 451-454
ISSN 2321-2543, DOI: 10.18510/ijsrtm.2015.384
Another difficulty faced was that the fluid would
become thick at the bottom and thinner at the top if kept ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
undisturbed for few days. A suitable additive could help
maintain the stability of fluid and it would have absorbed We would like to thank our officials Rev Dr Francis P.
more impact. Few suggestions were asked from chemical Xavier SJ, Dr Jose Swaminathan, Rev Dr John Pragasam SJ,
professionals, but that did not work out well. More work and Mr.S.Francis Jeyapathi for their constant encouragement
could be done with chemical professionals to find out a in research activities. We would like to render our special
suitable additive to make the solution stable. thanks to Mr. Edward Jeyaseelan Kennedy and Mr. J.
The tiles could have been fabricated in better manner, Surendran Manuel for their help in testing process.
ensuring better fastening for Kevlar layers and air tight
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