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(make sure you watch the video on the above page)
Flexible full-body protection that could save our troops' lives and limbs is at the top of the list for many researchers and technology companies. One such product could soon make its way to Iraq. As this ScienCentral News video explains, the secret ingredient is a liquid that could turn lightweight material into full-body armor.
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A new "liquid armor" could be the solution for protecting the parts of the body that aren't currently covered by standard-issue ballistic vests – arms and legs, where many of these devastating and life-threatening injuries occur. Co-developed by two research teams – one led by Norman Wagner at the University of Delaware, and the other led by Eric Wetzel at the U.S. Army Research Lab in Aberdeen, MD – the liquid technology will soon lead to light, flexible full-body armor.
The liquid - called shear thickening fluid is actually a mixture of hard nanoparticles and nonevaporating liquid. It flows normally under low-energy conditions, but when agitated or hit with an impact it stiffens and behaves like a solid. This temporary stiffening occurs less than a millisecond after impact, and is caused by the nanoparticles forming tiny clusters inside the fluid. "The particles jam up forming a log jam structure that prevents things from penetrating through them," Wagner explains.
Wagner and Wetzel developed a way to specially treat ballistic fabrics, such as Kevlar, with the liquid, making them dramatically more resistant to puncture and much better at reducing blunt trauma.
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The treatment of the fabric prevents the fibers from spreading apart or "windowing," which keeps sharp objects from entering. That means that not only would materials treated with shear thickening fluids be better against conventional threats such as bullets, but would also resist puncture from shrapnel. The materials would also remain light – only 20 percent heavier after treatment - and flexible, which means they could be used for much-needed protection of the limbs.
"We can make thin layers of material for use on the arms and legs that remain flexible under normal motion, but become rigid and absorb energy when impacted by a ballistic threat or a knife," Wagner says.
U.S. manufacturer Armor Holdings recently licensed the technology and plans to release its first products by the end of the year.
Wagner says there could also be many civilian applications – like protecting people during car crashes, or making tires sturdier.
>
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A new "liquid armor" could be the solution for protecting the parts of the body that aren't currently covered by standard-issue ballistic vests – arms and legs, where many of these devastating and life-threatening injuries occur. Co-developed by two research teams – one led by Norman Wagner at the University of Delaware, and the other led by Eric Wetzel at the U.S. Army Research Lab in Aberdeen, MD – the liquid technology will soon lead to light, flexible full-body armor.
The liquid - called shear thickening fluid is actually a mixture of hard nanoparticles and nonevaporating liquid. It flows normally under low-energy conditions, but when agitated or hit with an impact it stiffens and behaves like a solid. This temporary stiffening occurs less than a millisecond after impact, and is caused by the nanoparticles forming tiny clusters inside the fluid. "The particles jam up forming a log jam structure that prevents things from penetrating through them," Wagner explains.
Wagner and Wetzel developed a way to specially treat ballistic fabrics, such as Kevlar, with the liquid, making them dramatically more resistant to puncture and much better at reducing blunt trauma.
>
>
The treatment of the fabric prevents the fibers from spreading apart or "windowing," which keeps sharp objects from entering. That means that not only would materials treated with shear thickening fluids be better against conventional threats such as bullets, but would also resist puncture from shrapnel. The materials would also remain light – only 20 percent heavier after treatment - and flexible, which means they could be used for much-needed protection of the limbs.
"We can make thin layers of material for use on the arms and legs that remain flexible under normal motion, but become rigid and absorb energy when impacted by a ballistic threat or a knife," Wagner says.
U.S. manufacturer Armor Holdings recently licensed the technology and plans to release its first products by the end of the year.
Wagner says there could also be many civilian applications – like protecting people during car crashes, or making tires sturdier.
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