Uploaded May 2015 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
For the MCV, we decided to research/discuss bulletproof materials, specifically bulletproof body armor, and ways they are being improved in many properties such as weight, cost, and mobility. Almost any material could be considered bulletproof if it were stacked enough, but some materials are better than others due to their specific traits regarding strength and thickness. Currently, there are numerous situations where current bulletproof materials are sufficient for their task and protect the human body well enough, but this often comes at the cost of high weight and flexibility losses. For example, a square foot of 3-inch thick steel plate will definitely stop a 9mm bullet, but it will be extremely heavy and completely inflexible. If this plate (or many of these plates) was attached to a vehicle, then the flexibility does not matter, but this is obviously not a viable option for body armor. The most popular solution for body armor is Kevlar, so we will focus on this when researching vests and body armor. Other materials have been designed and used in bulletproof vests but they tend to be much too expensive for mass use and still have their downfalls and drawbacks . As well as looking into the properties of conventional and nonconventional ballistic materials, we will research how materials are processed to gain the strength necessary to stop a speeding bullet. One specific material that we are interested in focusing on is carbon nanotubes. We believe that they could be used as a suitable bulletproof material because they are extremely strong, yet light. The fibres of the tubes are excellent at absorbing strong forces and distributing those forces throughout their structure. Carbon nanotubes are a good choice for this specific report because all of their remarkable properties can be explained by their structure and then applied to real world situations. Nanotechnology will undoubtedly become increasingly more relevant in the future and it would be interesting to learn more about it before then, and the possible uses it might have in terms of bulletproof material.
References
Informational:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strength_of_materials
http://i.ytimg.com/vi/0FOkyKbG8s0/hqdefault.jpg -mythbusters (video is a different link)
Ballistic resistance of personal body armor([2000]). . Washington, D.C. : U.S. Dept. of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, National Institute of Justice
M. Grujicic et al., Mater. Sci. Eng. A (2007), doi:10.1016/j.msea.2007.06.013
nanowerk.com/spotlight/spotid=17548.php -carbon nanotubes information
books.google.com/books?id=O379nM3QZwsC&pg=PA85&lpg=PA85&dq=kevlar+density+kg/m3&source=bl&ots=NcNDtpwM_x&sig=QOgNngHSAjyaTSDlTPRKUJMQfUo&hl=en&sa=X&ei=ixkwVdfxMoadyATZ-oHIAg&ved=0CD8Q6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=kevlar%20density%20kg%2Fm3&f=false -Kevlar stats
space.com/29062-new-horizons-pluto-bulletproof-vest-video.html -spacecraft kevlar video
http://www.aramid.eu/advantages---disadvantages.html -aramid fibers
usconcealedcarry.com/stopping-bullets -Stopping Bullets
youtube.com/watch?v=qd0m5INHXJ8 - Weave Clip
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevlar -kevlar structure
nij.gov/topics/technology/body-armor/pages/welcome.aspx -NIJ Statistics
Images:
johndyerco.com/Dad/Block2.jpg -block
http://autocww2.colorado.edu/~toldy2/E64ContentFiles/MilitaryWeapons/Ballistics.html-first bullet image
science.howstuffworks.com/body-armor1.htm -body armor diagram
dvhardware.net/article23154.html - carbon nanotubes pic
parksandrecreation.wikia.com/wiki/Dave_Sanderson Image
careercast.com/career-news/most-stressful-jobs-2013-police-officer Image
ymcichem.wikispaces.com/B+-+Synthetic+Fibres Wet Spinning
"Wikipedia Kevlar Silk Comparison". Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikipedia -
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wikipedia_Kevlar_Silk_Comparison.jpg#/media/File:Wikipedia_Kevlar_Silk_Comparison.jpg
inglesebox.com/pizzaboxes.asp - Pizza Image
policemag.com/channel/patrol/articles/2013/04/rethinking-body-armor.aspx Picture
acs.org/content/acs/en/education/whatischemistry/women-scientists/stephanie-kwolek.html
http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?pid=S1516-14392014000500012&script=sci_arttext
For the MCV, we decided to research/discuss bulletproof materials, specifically bulletproof body armor, and ways they are being improved in many properties such as weight, cost, and mobility. Almost any material could be considered bulletproof if it were stacked enough, but some materials are better than others due to their specific traits regarding strength and thickness. Currently, there are numerous situations where current bulletproof materials are sufficient for their task and protect the human body well enough, but this often comes at the cost of high weight and flexibility losses. For example, a square foot of 3-inch thick steel plate will definitely stop a 9mm bullet, but it will be extremely heavy and completely inflexible. If this plate (or many of these plates) was attached to a vehicle, then the flexibility does not matter, but this is obviously not a viable option for body armor. The most popular solution for body armor is Kevlar, so we will focus on this when researching vests and body armor. Other materials have been designed and used in bulletproof vests but they tend to be much too expensive for mass use and still have their downfalls and drawbacks . As well as looking into the properties of conventional and nonconventional ballistic materials, we will research how materials are processed to gain the strength necessary to stop a speeding bullet. One specific material that we are interested in focusing on is carbon nanotubes. We believe that they could be used as a suitable bulletproof material because they are extremely strong, yet light. The fibres of the tubes are excellent at absorbing strong forces and distributing those forces throughout their structure. Carbon nanotubes are a good choice for this specific report because all of their remarkable properties can be explained by their structure and then applied to real world situations. Nanotechnology will undoubtedly become increasingly more relevant in the future and it would be interesting to learn more about it before then, and the possible uses it might have in terms of bulletproof material.
References
Informational:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strength_of_materials
http://i.ytimg.com/vi/0FOkyKbG8s0/hqdefault.jpg -mythbusters (video is a different link)
Ballistic resistance of personal body armor([2000]). . Washington, D.C. : U.S. Dept. of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, National Institute of Justice
M. Grujicic et al., Mater. Sci. Eng. A (2007), doi:10.1016/j.msea.2007.06.013
nanowerk.com/spotlight/spotid=17548.php -carbon nanotubes information
books.google.com/books?id=O379nM3QZwsC&pg=PA85&lpg=PA85&dq=kevlar+density+kg/m3&source=bl&ots=NcNDtpwM_x&sig=QOgNngHSAjyaTSDlTPRKUJMQfUo&hl=en&sa=X&ei=ixkwVdfxMoadyATZ-oHIAg&ved=0CD8Q6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=kevlar%20density%20kg%2Fm3&f=false -Kevlar stats
space.com/29062-new-horizons-pluto-bulletproof-vest-video.html -spacecraft kevlar video
http://www.aramid.eu/advantages---disadvantages.html -aramid fibers
usconcealedcarry.com/stopping-bullets -Stopping Bullets
youtube.com/watch?v=qd0m5INHXJ8 - Weave Clip
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevlar -kevlar structure
nij.gov/topics/technology/body-armor/pages/welcome.aspx -NIJ Statistics
Images:
johndyerco.com/Dad/Block2.jpg -block
http://autocww2.colorado.edu/~toldy2/E64ContentFiles/MilitaryWeapons/Ballistics.html-first bullet image
science.howstuffworks.com/body-armor1.htm -body armor diagram
dvhardware.net/article23154.html - carbon nanotubes pic
parksandrecreation.wikia.com/wiki/Dave_Sanderson Image
careercast.com/career-news/most-stressful-jobs-2013-police-officer Image
ymcichem.wikispaces.com/B+-+Synthetic+Fibres Wet Spinning
"Wikipedia Kevlar Silk Comparison". Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikipedia -
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wikipedia_Kevlar_Silk_Comparison.jpg#/media/File:Wikipedia_Kevlar_Silk_Comparison.jpg
inglesebox.com/pizzaboxes.asp - Pizza Image
policemag.com/channel/patrol/articles/2013/04/rethinking-body-armor.aspx Picture
acs.org/content/acs/en/education/whatischemistry/women-scientists/stephanie-kwolek.html
http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?pid=S1516-14392014000500012&script=sci_arttext
