Do You Know about Ki Ang High Quality Body Armor?

As an experienced bulletproof vest factory in the market, Ki Ang understands any information about bulletproof vests, what are the materials of bulletproof vests, the development process through the ages and the types of bulletproof vests. Ki Ang 15 years of custom tactical equipment factory, welcome to contact us!

What is body armor

Body armor, also known as body armor, is a type of clothing that can absorb and dissipate the kinetic energy of warheads and bomb fragments, prevent them from penetrating, and effectively protect the protected parts of the human body. Generally speaking, bulletproof vests are mainly composed of two parts: a bulletproof layer and a jacket: the bulletproof layer is the core part of the bulletproof vest, usually made of metal, ceramics and fiber materials; the jacket is mostly made of chemical fiber or wool cotton materials, which is not only It can protect the bulletproof layer and make the bulletproof vest more comfortable to wear. In addition, some styles of body armor also add a buffer layer to reduce non-penetrating injuries (blunt injuries).

Types of body armor

According to the materials used in the bulletproof layer, bulletproof vests can be divided into three types: hard body armor, soft body armor and composite body armor. Their bulletproof principles are also different.

Hard body armor

Hard body armor made of hard materials such as metal and ceramics can absorb the kinetic energy of bullets through material deformation and cracking, thereby achieving bulletproof effects and can even withstand direct fire from rifle bullets. However, due to material reasons, this type of body armor is often bulky, which can hinder the wearer's movement to a certain extent.

Soft body armor

The bulletproof layer of soft body armor is mostly made of fiber materials. When hit by a bullet, the high-strength and high-tenacity fiber materials will disperse the impact force of the bullet to each fiber, causing directional shearing, tensile damage and decomposition. Destroy the layers to dissipate the kinetic energy of the bullet. Soft body armor is relatively light and flexible, but is relatively weak against high-penetrating rifle bullets, so it is mostly used in non-military scenarios.

Composite body armor

The surface layer of the composite body armor is made of hard bulletproof material, and the lining is made of soft bulletproof material, which combines the advantages of the first two. Therefore, it not only has a good defensive effect, but also is relatively light and flexible. It is a relatively mainstream type at present.

The development history of body armor

Early body armor evolved on the basis of ancient armor, and its shape was very different from metal armor. For example, the famous Sn-42 bulletproof breastplate during World War II was made of forged steel plates about 2 mm thick, weighed 3.5 kg, and could withstand 9 mm bullets fired by MP40 at a distance of 100 to 125 meters.

However, this kind of metal breastplate is really inconvenient. It is obviously "fatal" for soldiers to charge in open terrain wearing this thing. And for the full-power rifle bullets commonly used at the time, this kind of body armor was almost like paper. But if the defense was to be further improved, I am afraid its weight would not be bearable by the soldiers.

So at the end of World War II, the army began to install bulletproof vests with built-in bulletproof metal plates, such as the M12 anti-fragment vest used by the US military. This type of body armor sews metal plates into nylon material, which can protect the core without affecting the movement of soldiers.

In the 1960s, the introduction of aramid fiber Kevlar ushered in a new stage in the development of soft bulletproof materials. This fiber material is strong, tough, and most importantly, foldable and lightweight. With the same protection effect, it can even reduce the weight by half compared to traditional bulletproof materials.

Kevlar has a good protective effect against fragments and pistol bullets, but it is still difficult to protect against direct rifle fire. Therefore, later body armors added metal/ceramic bulletproof inserts to the fiber interlayer to protect the core area of the body. This is also the most common body armor design today.

Characteristics of different bulletproof materials

Metallic material

Metal materials are the most common bulletproof materials. Titanium alloys, aluminum alloys and special steels are commonly used in the production of bulletproof vests.

Metal materials mainly rely on their high hardness to protect against bullets. In the early days, there were bulletproof vests made of a whole steel plate. Nowadays, bulletproof inserts are mostly sewn on the front and back of the bulletproof vest.

Ceramic material

Currently, the most commonly used ceramic materials include corundum, boron carbide, silicon carbide, alumina, etc., which have three main characteristics: hard, light, and brittle.

The most notable feature of ceramic materials is that they are hard and can even shatter bullets at the moment of contact with them, greatly consuming the bullet's kinetic energy. And its weight is much lighter than metal materials with the same bulletproof effect, which can reduce the burden on the wearer. On the other hand, the fragility (brittleness) of ceramics can further absorb the kinetic energy of bullets through cracking. However, the cracks generated after being hit multiple times by bullets will no longer be able to resist bullets, and may even cause the insert to completely lose its protective capabilities. So everyone knows why ceramic body armor is not durable for repair, right?

Fiber material

Kevlar is an aramid fiber composite material developed in the 1960s. This material has the advantages of low density, high strength, good toughness, high temperature resistance, and easy processing - its strength is 5 times that of steel of the same quality. , but the density is only 1/5 of steel.

Polyethylene refers to ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fiber (UHMWPE), which is spun from polyethylene resin with a molecular weight of more than 1 million. It is the fiber with the highest strength and ballistic resistance among industrial fiber materials. It has the characteristics of high strength, high modulus, low density, good flexibility and high kinetic energy absorption. It also has good resistance to wear, low temperature, ultraviolet rays, strong acids and alkalis, and chemical corrosion. Therefore, in addition to being used to make body armor, it is also widely used in bulletproof armor, ship cables, and aerospace.