Saint-Gobain Protective Armor Saving More Lives in Iraq War.VALLEY FORGE Valley Forge, on the Schuylkill River, SE Pa., NW of Philadelphia. There, during the American Revolution, the main camp of the Continental Army was established (Dec., 1777–June, 1778) under the command of Gen. George Washington. , Pa. -- In recent years, Saint-Gobain Corporation, headquartered in Valley Forge, PA, has emerged as a leading provider of materials for body, vehicle, and aircraft armor. The $8.6 billion company, known for packaging, construction products, and high-performance materials, has formed an Armor Synergy Group Synergy Group is a Latin American conglomerate owned by Bolivian-born Germán Efromovich, an entrepreneur holding dual citizenship of Colombia and Brazil. The group operates several airlines in South America and one in Africa, and is active in the exploration of oil and among its diverse North American North American named after North America. North American blastomycosis see North American blastomycosis. North American cattle tick see boophilusannulatus. businesses to develop products that men and women in the military would undoubtedly consider "life saving." The full range of applications of the Saint-Gobain armor technology includes transport aircraft, helicopters, land vehicles, AC-130U gunships, and 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 . Soldiers from the Vietnam War Vietnam War, conflict in Southeast Asia, primarily fought in South Vietnam between government forces aided by the United States and guerrilla forces aided by North Vietnam. would hardly recognize the body armor being worn today by U.S. troops in Iraq. The heavy and cumbersome Vietnam-era bullet-proof vests used outdated ceramic, steel, or reinforced plastic. Today's armored vests use lighter, stronger ceramic plates that absorb the force of impact and buffer the impact to the soldier's body, greatly minimizing blunt-force trauma. "Upon contact by a 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. , the plate actually shatters, with the force being dissipated outward. The backing behind the plate works much like a catcher's mitt catching a high-velocity pitch," said Steve Elliott Steve 'Stevie' Elliott (born 29 October 1978 in Derby) is an English professional football player. He currently plays as a centre back for Bristol Rovers. Derby County (1997-2003) of armor plate manufacturer Saint-Gobain. "Several soldiers have reported to the Army that the vest absolutely saved their lives." "The worldwide market for armor products has grown tremendously in recent years," said Elliott, Director of Contract Program Management for Saint-Gobain Structural Ceramics. "The broad range of efforts by our Synergy Group and our regular dialogue enhances Saint-Gobain's understanding of the market so that we make increasingly safer products." One key development is the silicon carbide silicon carbide, chemical compound, SiC, that forms extremely hard, dark, iridescent crystals that are insoluble in water and other common solvents. Widely used as an abrasive, it is marketed under such familiar trade names as Carborundum and Crystolon. ceramic plate that is the principal protective component of the armor vests. These plates, with their complex geometry In mathematics, complex geometry is the study of complex manifolds and functions of many complex variables. designed for the human shape, more effectively defeat high-caliber projectiles. Saint-Gobain provides the plates - known as Enhanced Small Arms small arms, firearms designed primarily to be carried and fired by one person and, generally, held in the hands, as distinguished from heavy arms, or artillery. Early Small Arms The first small arms came into general use at the end of the 14th cent. Protective Inserts, or ESAPI ESAPI Enhanced Small Arms Protective Inserts (bulletproof vests) ESAPI Encryption Services Application Programming Interface ESAPI Enterprise Security Application Programming Interface (Open Web Application Security Project) plates - to makers of enhanced body armor. In the past several years, the Years, The the seven decades of Eleanor Pargiter’s life. [Br. Lit.: Benét, 1109] See : Time company has produced more than 100,000 plates for this use. The ceramics business - which has plants which make the plates in Niagara Falls, NY, Worcester, MA, and Rodental, Germany - just announced that it is expanding production capacity at its Niagara Falls facility to meet the higher demand for enhanced body armor from the U.S. military. Another key creative force in the armor market is Saint-Gobain Crystals, which makes Sapphire Transparent Armor Windows for use in armored vehicles. The window laminate system, which incorporates commercially grown sapphire sheet, delivers high strength, high hardness, and good transparency in the visible and infrared spectra. The system also significantly reduces the overall system weight and thickness while enhancing ballistic performance, which is a big plus in armored vehicles. Saint-Gobain uses the patented EFG EFG Electric Field Gradient EFG Edge-defined Film-fed Growth EFG European Financial Group EFG European Federation of Geologists EFG Egyptian Financial Group EFG Epic Fail Guy EFG Earth Federation Government (Mobile Suit Gundam) [TM] (Edge defined Film fed Growth) growth process to create the sapphire, which is bonded to glass using conventional interlayers, such as polyvinyl butyral. Saint-Gobain Crystals is devoted to optimizing the unique properties of materials through advanced industrial processing and serves such markets as the military, homeland security, medical imaging, and aerospace. Sapphire for military vehicular and aircraft armor is produced at the company's Milford, NH, facility. Its use in the Sapphire Transparent Armor Windows came from a cooperative effort between Saint-Gobain Crystals and Saint-Gobain Sully, a world leader in laminated glass ballistic windows. The window systems are being offered to the commercial sector as well for applications where industrial safety is a concern. Other members of the Saint-Gobain Armor Synergy Group include Saint-Gobain Solcera, maker of specialty ceramic products, and Vetrotex, a provider of glass reinforcements. Saint-Gobain Corporation employs approximately 24,000 people in the U.S. and Canada. Globally, Saint-Gobain has sales of $52 billion, operations in 50 countries, and 200,000 employees. Left: Armor for insertion into a vehicle seat back. Right, bottom two: Side Small Armor Protective Inserts. Right, top two: Enhanced Small Armor Protective Inserts. http://www.saint-gobain.com/us/press/armorplates.jpg Saint-Gobain Sapphire Transparent Armor Window and silicon carbide ceramic plates are shown. http://www.saint-gobain.com/us/press/armorandglass.jpg Armored vests use lighter, stronger ceramic plates that minimizing blunt-force trauma. http://www.saint-gobain.com/us/press/teamwork.jpg Saint-Gobain armor technology is used on land vehicles, aircraft, gunships, and body armor. http://www.saint-gobain.com/us/press/hummer.jpg |
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