AlliedSignal's Spectra(R) (HPF) unit unveils "SpectrAmid(TM) Aramid Shield" new ballistic material raises armor performance of aramid fibers; Now a multi-materials supplier is providing applications development.PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 21, 1995--The Spectra High Performance Fibers business of AlliedSignal Inc. today introduced SpectrAmid aramid Aramid fibers are a class of heat-resistant and strong synthetic fibers. They are used in aerospace and military applications, for ballistic rated body armor fabric, and as an asbestos substitute. The name is a shortened form of "aromatic polyamide". shield, a new bullet-resistant composite. The company said it represents the first major advance in ballistics ballistics (bəlĭs`tĭks), science of projectiles. Interior ballistics deals with the propulsion and the motion of a projectile within a gun or firing device. technology for aramid fibers ar·a·mid fiber n. A strong, heat-resistant fiber formed of polymers with repeating aromatic groups branching from a carbon backbone, used in materials for bulletproof vests and radial tires. Also called polyaramid. since they were introduced in police body armor Noun 1. body armor - armor that protects the wearer's whole body body armour, cataphract, coat of mail, suit of armor, suit of armour armet - a medieval helmet with a visor and a neck guard in the early 1970s. Making the introduction at the Milipol, Paris `95 International Exhibition of Police, Civil and Military Security Equipment, Jeffrey A. Leone, general manager of AlliedSignal's Spectra High Performance Fibers (HPF HPF - High Performance Fortran ), said he is re-chartering the Spectra HPF business to become the first global supplier of multiple materials that are supported by intensive applications-engineering for customers. "As a backup for our portfolio of materials," he said, "this fall we reorganized re·or·gan·ize v. re·or·gan·ized, re·or·gan·iz·ing, re·or·gan·iz·es v.tr. To organize again or anew. v.intr. To undergo or effect changes in organization. the business to deliver our expertise in applications development directly to our customers. We will be available to assist them with product development and innovations in the field of armor as well as in our consumer and industrial markets." Six-Million-Dollar Development Program In 1988 Spectra HPF introduced Spectra Shield Spectra Shield® is a composite material (specifically, an ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) fiber) used in bulletproof vests and vehicle armour. It is manufactured by Honeywell. (R) -- the first non-woven composite for making both soft-body armor and hard-armor panels. Following a $6 million development program, Leone said, Spectra HPF has successfully adapted its `shield' composite technology to produce high-performance stopping power stopping power Radiation oncology The ability of a material to stop ionizing radiation; alpha paticles are stopped by a piece of paper, gamma radiation by thick lead shielding Radiology The density of a tissue reflected in an image's whiteness; white using aramid fibers. "SpectrAmid aramid shield significantly enhances the natural ballistic performance of traditional aramid fibers," said Leone, who heads AlliedSignal's U.S.-based Spectra HPF business with headquarters near Richmond, Va. The product, now available in rolls for soft and hard armor, is being evaluated by several armor manufacturers. Aramid shield for making ballistic helmets will be offered for commercial sale in the near future. "The pre-launch trials have already led to the first commercial orders," said Leone. "This means the first armor products using SpectrAmid aramid shield will soon be ready for commercial distribution." He added that the product is now available for expanded trials on a worldwide basis. SpectrAmid Aramid Shield Advantages SpectrAmid aramid shield will: o provide greatly improved ballistics protection against multi-hit automatic weapons for armor systems requiring aramid fabrics -- a specification of some law enforcement and military applications; o improve the stopping power of bullet-resistant vests and, because it has better energy absorption than woven aramids, improve the vests' ability to reduce back face deformation which, in turn, will reduce blunt trauma blunt trauma Molecular Any injury sustained from blunt force, which may be related to MVAs, or mishaps, falls or jumps, blows or crush injuries from animals, blunt objects or unarmed assailants. Cf Penetrating trauma. -- the hammer-like blow from a stopped bullet that itself can incapacitate in·ca·pac·i·tate tr.v. in·ca·pac·i·tat·ed, in·ca·pac·i·tat·ing, in·ca·pac·i·tates 1. To deprive of strength or ability; disable. 2. To make legally ineligible; disqualify. or even kill; o significantly improve the performance of aramid-fiber composites for vehicle armor against rifle shots, by providing equal or better protection than previously possible with less weight and in a thinner form that is much more easily molded; and o eliminate, in many cases, the current need to combine aramids used in vehicle armor with costly ceramics and other "exotic" materials. A Performance Migration to Shield Technology AlliedSignal's patented shield process creates a "fabric-like" material without the over-under pattern of weaving. Instead, wide tapes of side-by-side fibers are embedded Inserted into. See embedded system. in a resin. These unidirectional The transfer or transmission of data in a channel in one direction only. tapes are then cross-plied at right angles so as to form a right angle or right angles, as when one line crosses another perpendicularly. See also: Right and bonded together, making a nonwoven non·wo·ven adj. Made by a process not involving weaving. Used of textiles. n. Material or a fabric made by a process not involving weaving. composite. The soft shield is used to make ballistic panels for body armor, or is hardened with compression and heat into rigid panels for hard armor. "The enormous success since 1988 of Spectra Shield," which employs the company's proprietary, ultra-high-strength polyethylene Spectra fibers, "has led to a performance migration," said Leone. "Today virtually every high-performance armor system for personnel protection as well as land, air and sea vehicles, requires Spectra Shield as the primary ballistic ingredient. "With SpectrAmid aramid shield we're expanding into aramids the superior ballistics protection made possible by our `shield' process. Our customers can provide law-enforcement agencies and military units with exceptional ballistic stopping power, the superior trauma protection and the unique anti-spalling features of `shield' technology plus the traditional value of aramid fibers in an armor system. "SpectrAmid aramid shield will be sold to innovative manufacturers seeking to develop advanced armor technologies," Leone added. "SpectrAmid aramid shield can now be used alone or in combination with Spectra Shield, along with aramid ballistic fabrics and exotic materials, to create innovative high performance systems in every category of armor. Multi-Materials Supplier and Applications Engineering "We can now provide a portfolio of materials -- those we manufacture ourselves as well as materials from other suppliers," said Leone. "With the debut of SpectrAmid aramid shield, as well as the other products that Spectra HPF will be introducing, we will offer a range of `shield' alternatives -- not just one product. "In the third quarter of this year, we established a special Applications Development Team," he continued. "As part of our growth strategy, we are making their exceptional applications-engineering skills available to customers, helping them engineer products that meet the growing demand for sophisticated armor protection. They will employ the materials we make ourselves, as well as others on the market, to accomplish the objective." Enhancing Aramid Fibers "Our new SpectrAmid `shield' product will allow the continued use of aramids in armor systems where aramids are specified or preferred," Spectra HPF's General Manager Leone continued. "It will provide ballistic performance far greater than has been achieved with traditional woven aramid fabrics." What Test Results Show In soft armor SpectrAmid aramid shield shot with a 9 mm Full Metal Jacket Noun 1. full metal jacket - a lead bullet that is covered with a jacket of a harder metal (usually copper) bullet, slug - a projectile that is fired from a gun (FMJ FMJ Full Metal Jacket FMJ Facility Management Journal ) projectile projectile something thrown forward. projectile syringe see blow dart. projectile vomiting forceful vomiting, usually without preceding retching, in which the vomitus is thrown well forward. at 367 meter/second, produces a deformation that is 30 percent less than that recorded with a standard woven aramid fabric. At equivalent weights, SpectrAmid aramid shield demonstrated superior V-50 -- a gauge of "stopping power" -- versus aramid fabrics when shot with 9 mm projectiles at muzzle velocities Noun 1. muzzle velocity - the velocity of a projectile as it leaves the muzzle of a gun speed, velocity - distance travelled per unit time The velocity of a projectile with respect to the muzzle at the instant the projectile leaves the weapon. between 358 and 426 m/sec. And both SpectrAmid aramid shield and Spectra Shield exceed by 50 to 60 percent the U.S. National Institute of Justice standard for softbody armor deformation. In hard armor, SpectrAmid aramid shield is ideal for many vehicle armor applications. SpectrAmid aramid shield meets multi-hit requirements, contributes to the structural rigidity of the system, and accomplishes this with a much thinner panel than is possible using aramid fabrics. For example, against the 7.62 mm M-80 ball round, SpectrAmid aramid shield produces a level of energy absorption that cannot be approached with aramid fabrics, unless they are combined with ceramic or steel to engage and flatten flatten - To remove structural information, especially to filter something with an implicit tree structure into a simple sequence of leaves; also tends to imply mapping to flat ASCII. "This code flattens an expression with parentheses into an equivalent canonical form." the projectile. It also supplements the light-weight features of Spectra Shield by offering a "shield" material that performs better near engine compartments and other higher-heat environments. In addition, SpectrAmid aramid shield will supplement Spectra Shield, known for its light weight and advanced ballistic performance, by providing ballistic performance in higher-heat settings and greater structural strength in vehicle armor panels. Manufacturing Advantages For fabricators and manufacturers of hard-armor systems, SpectrAmid aramid shield has many handling advantages. It eliminates the need to work with the volatile phenolic resins Noun 1. phenolic resin - a thermosetting resin phenolic, phenoplast synthetic resin - a resin having a polymeric structure; especially a resin in the raw state; used chiefly in plastics required to make composites with woven aramids. It is easier to cut, lay up and mold into hard composites than aramid fabric materials. "Because we eliminate the need to incorporate ceramics or steel into certain hard-panel aramid composites, our customers will save on labor costs and can reduce processing times," he explained. New Investments "Our new product represents an investment of more than $6 million," Leone said, adding that another $5 million will be spent by the end of next year to increase fiber capacity and develop technology enhancements. "This investment, and others that may soon be announced, is in response to unprecedented demand for our products, as well as our own plans to increase the variety of the products we now offer. The introduction of SpectrAmid aramid shield firmly establishes us as a multi-materials supplier and a leading world-wide resource for the development of advanced armor," the Spectra HPF general manager concluded. In 1985, the Spectra HPF group introduced Spectra fiber -- a tough, durable, impact-resistant material with the molecular structure of a diamond that, pound-for-pound, is 10 times stronger than steel. This was three years before the introduction of Spectra Shield, the nonwoven composite that has become widely used in ballistic vests  This article or section may deal primarily with the U.S. and may not present a worldwide view. , helmets and lightweight vehicle armor for land, air and sea. AlliedSignal is an advanced manufacturing company providing customers worldwide with quality aerospace and automotive products, chemicals, plastics, and advanced materials Advanced Materials is a leading peer-reviewed materials science journal published every two weeks. Advanced Materials includes Communications, Reviews, and Feature Articles from the cutting edge of materials science, including topics in chemistry, physics, including fibers. CONTACT: For more information, please call, fax or write: Lisa E. Rosevear John Mallen Communications Inc. 10 Pearl St. Kingston, N.Y. 12401 914/331-1200 or Sophie O. Wray 804/520-3242 |
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