Liquid bulletproof vest

In the current military field, people's requirements for bullet-proof equipment are constantly increasing. With the basic protection guaranteed, people begin to pursue comfort and beauty. Therefore, researchers in this field have shifted their attention to various materials that can improve the performance of bullet-proof equipment. Moratex, a research institute focusing on safety technology, recently developed a new material, a liquid.

This Research Institute in Poland a shear-thickening liquid STF, which is lighter in weight and more flexible than standard bullet-proof materials, but stronger in defense. In fact, this kind of body armor is not liquid. This kind of vest is actually a traditional bulletproof vest made from high strength fibre such as Kevlar and reinforced by special liquid material (STF), with no difference in appearance from traditional soft vests. This material is a kind of white colloidal liquid, belonging to STF. When agitated with fingers, it feels like ordinary viscous liquid because of its low speed, low strength and low shearing effect. However, when it is subjected to rapid impact, the viscosity of STF will increase sharply in an instant.

Bullets can usually take the wearers’ life because of the strong impact brought by bullets even without penetration. The liquid body armor is said to eliminate the impact force by 100%. Because the body armor can change the deflection of the bullet from 4cm to 1cm. The deflection of the bullet means no deep penetration into the body armor.

The STF of bulletproof vests can consume the kinetic energy of bullet itself greatly, while effectively strengthening the interrelationship among fibers, bundles and fabric layers, greatly improving the overall protective effect of vests.

At present, the application of STF in bullet-proof equipment is still in its infancy, and many problems have not been solved perfectly. However, STF enhancement products have been successfully commercialized, such as skiing, motorcycle wear and other sports protective devices.