EFFECT OF FRAGMENT GEOMETRY ON BALLISTIC PROTECTION

The primary purpose of modern military body armor is to reduce fatalities from high-velocity fragments. Increased protection provided by body armor has seen the relocation of fragmentation injuries sustained in military operations to the extremities of the body; upper and lower limbs, the pelvic region, the face and the neck. Developing modular components aimed at increasing protection of body extremities and combat body armor of fewer layers and a lower associated mass penalty, whilst retaining protective quality, is of great interest. Ballistic testing determines performance of an amour against a specific threat; making necessary the development of appropriate tests that mimic as far practicable the fragment threat. The international standard for testing military body armor, STANAG 2920 (Ed. 2), describes several fragment simulating projectiles (FSPs). In this paper the effect of FSP geometry on the i) fragment protective performance and ii) failure mechanisms of a fabric commonly used in body armor was determined.