KR20240136593A - Lightweight bulletproof for multiple high-speed bullets - Google Patents

Abstract

A fiber-reinforced article having the use of ballistic protection, shock absorption and penetration resistance against multiple high-velocity rounds in body armor, helmets, chest plates, helicopter seats, fragment shields and other applications. The article comprises at least a front laminate and a second laminate, the front laminate comprising at least one ply of strong inorganic fibers within a polymer matrix and the second laminate comprising at least one ply of strong polymer fibers within a polymer matrix.

Description

{Lightweight bulletproof for multiple high-speed bullets}

The present invention relates to fiber reinforced articles having uses for providing bulletproof, shock absorbing and penetration resistance against multiple high velocity projectiles in body armor, helmets, breast plates, helicopter seats, spallshields and other applications.

Modern body armor designed to protect against handgun bullets traveling at about 1000 ft/sec (305 m/sec) is typically formed from thin layers of woven fabric or sheets of fibers laminated together in a flexible bundle. However, body armor designed to protect against heavy rifle bullets traveling at over 2000 ft/sec (610 m/sec) typically requires more complex structures to meet the competing requirements of weight, thickness, flexibility, multiple hit performance, blunt trauma, and durability. Body armor may include rigid front and/or back elements to deform the bullet or absorb its energy. Ceramics and other inorganic materials have been used in such body armor because of their high strength and low density compared to metals. Ceramic plates and tiles, which are commonly used, are pulverized (shattered) during the deformative process, providing relatively little protection against subsequent bullet impact. These issues are particularly evident when involving steel penetrators designed to penetrate body armor. There are many armor structures described in the prior art, although most are not directed to protection against rifle bullets or multi-hit performance. U.S. Patent No. 4,111,097 describes a laminated multilayer armor comprising steel and tungsten wire mesh within foamed plastic. U.S. Patent No. 4,868,040 describes a three-component composite comprising a face fabric composite, a ceramic tile energy absorber, and a back fabric composite. U.S. Patent No. 5,221,807 describes an armor comprising a face ceramic plate having a regular cell array, a middle layer having a honeycomb structure, and a back plate which may be Keblar® fibers, a ceramic matrix composite, or steel. U.S. Patent No. 5,545,455 describes a rigid composite comprising a polymer fiber layer continuously surrounded by and bound with a fiber girdle. The bound fibers may be inorganic fibers. U.S. Patent No. 5,456,156 describes a bulletproof article comprising a metal reinforced ceramic and a backing plate. U.S. Patent No. 5,635,288 describes a rigid composite comprising a monolithic face plate of ceramic, steel, glass, aluminum, titanium or graphite and a backing layer comprising non-directional polymer fibers bonded on the outer surface by a plastic film. U.S. Patent No. 5,677,029 describes a flexible fiber composite bulletproof article having a surface comprising a latticework of triangular or hexagonal hard bodies arranged such that a plurality of seams are formed therein so that the article is flexible along the direction of the seams. The hard bodies may be reinforced with polymeric or inorganic fibers. U.S. Patent No. 6,035,438 describes a body armor comprising ceramic discs laid out in a scale-like overlapping pattern sandwiched between layers of high-strength fibers. U.S. Patent No. 6,510,777 describes a similarly constructed vehiclearmor. U.S. Patent No. 6,127,291 describes a flexible penetration-resistant composite comprising woven sub-plies of polymeric or inorganic ballistic fibers. U.S. Patent No. 6,323,145 B1 describes a penetration-resistant interlaced yarn structure of high-strength polymeric or inorganic fibers. U.S. Patent No. 6,389,594 describes a bulletproof armor having ceramic plates maintained under an isobaric pressure of at least 10 atmospheres by a resin enclosure. U.S. Patent No. 6,408,733 B1 describes a bulletproof armor for multiple bullet protection comprising a monolithic ceramic face element and an aramid fiber composite substrate. U.S. Patent No. 6,532,857 B1 describes a ceramic array bulletproof armor comprising spaced apart elastomer-encapsulated ceramic tiles and an optional metal backing plate. U.S. Patent No. 6,601,497 B2 describes a bulletproof article component comprising polygonal ceramic tiles encased in a packaging material, wherein the packaging material can include one of: high strength fibers, high strength fibers in a polymer composite matrix, high strength fibers in a metal matrix, high strength metal bands, and high strength metal wires. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2001/0053645 A1 describes a multilayer bulletproof article comprising at least one rigid ballistic layer and at least one fiber ballistic layer, wherein the fibers of one fiber ply are at an angle of less than 45 degrees with the fibers of an adjacent fiber ply. The material of the rigid ballistic layer is metal, a metal/ceramic composite, a ceramic, a cured polymer, or a combination thereof. Each of the articles described in the aforementioned patents represents an improvement over the prior art. However, none of the aforementioned patents discloses the specific structure of the article of the present invention and none of them can satisfy all of the needs satisfied by the present invention. The primary purpose of the present invention is to provide a lightweight, bulletproof and penetration-resistant composite material having multiple hit capabilities against high-velocity bullets.

As used herein, the term "fiber network" or "network" refers to a plurality of fibers arranged in a predetermined arrangement or grouped together to form a twisted or non-twisted yarn, the plurality of yarns being arranged in a predetermined arrangement. The fiber network may have various structures. For example, the fibers or yarns may be formed as a felt, a knit, a braid, a weave, a randomly oriented nonwoven (e.g., air-laid) or a non-directional nonwoven, or may be formed into a network by any conventional method. In a particularly preferred network configuration, the fibers are arranged non-directionally so as to be substantially parallel to one another along the longitudinal direction of the network layer. However, this is not intended to preclude the use of an impractical number of parallel fibers and/or non-parallel fibers to stabilize other fibers, as is known in the art. In a further embodiment, an article of the present invention comprises a) a face laminate as described above, and b) a second laminate, wherein the first laminate and c) a second laminate are laminated face-to-face with the second laminate, and a third laminate further comprises one or more plies, each ply comprising a plurality of laminae of polymeric fibers in a network structure that does not include a matrix, wherein the polymeric fibers have a tenacity of at least 17 g/d, wherein each ply is defined by laminae having the same composition and structure and differing in composition and/or structure from laminae in adjacent plies.

As used herein, "fiber network" or "network" refers to a plurality of fibers arranged in a predetermined arrangement or grouped together to form a twisted or non-twisted yarn, the plurality of yarns being arranged in a predetermined arrangement. The fiber network can have various structures. For example, the fibers or yarns can be formed as a felt, a knit, a braid, a weave, a randomly oriented nonwoven (e.g., air-laid) or a non-directional nonwoven, or can be formed into a network by any conventional method. In a particularly preferred network configuration, the fibers are arranged non-directionally so as to be substantially parallel to one another along the longitudinal direction of the network layer. However, this is not intended to preclude the use of an impractical number of parallel fibers and/or non-parallel fibers to stabilize other fibers, as is known in the art. In a further embodiment, an article of the present invention comprises a) a face laminate as described above, and b) a second laminate, c) a second laminate laminated face-to-face with said second laminate, and a third laminate comprising one or more plies, each ply comprising a plurality of laminae of polymeric fibers in a network structure that does not include a matrix, wherein the polymeric fibers have a tenacity of at least 17 g/d, and wherein each ply is defined by laminae having the same composition and structure and differing in composition and/or structure from the laminae in adjacent plies. In yet another embodiment, an article of the present invention comprises a) a face laminate as described above, and b) a second laminate, and c) a third laminate laminated face-to-face with said second laminate.

The present invention is a ballistic and penetration resistant article comprising: a) a frontal laminate comprising one or more plies, said frontal laminate comprising a plurality of laminae of undirectional inorganic fibers within a polymeric matrix, said laminae within a ply having the same composition and structure and having filaments having the density of the fibers within adjacent plies of said frontal laminate, said fiber direction within each laminae being at an angle to the fiber direction within the adjacent laminae; and b) a second laminate joined face-to-face with said frontal laminate, said second laminate comprising one or more plies, each ply comprising a plurality of laminae of polymeric fibers in a network, said polymeric fibers having a strength of at least 17 g/d, said network optionally comprising a polymeric matrix material, wherein a ply within said second laminate is defined by laminae having the same composition and structure and differing in composition and/or structure from the laminae within adjacent plies.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a two-ply embodiment of an article of the present invention having one ply of non-directional inorganic fibers in a front laminate and one ply of polymeric fibers in a second laminate; FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a five-ply embodiment of the article of the present invention having two plies of non-directional inorganic fibers, each ply having a different composition or structure in the front laminate, two plies of polymeric fibers, each ply having a different composition or structure in the second laminate, and one ply of inorganic fibers in a third laminate; FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a) a front laminate comprising a face ply of non-directional inorganic fibers, a second ply of titanium metal plates, and a third ply of non-directional inorganic fibers, said titanium metal plates being embedded on all surfaces by the face and third ply; and b) a second laminate comprising one ply of polymeric fibers; and c) a third laminate made of polymer fibers of one ply having a composition or structure different from that of the second laminate. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a laminar manufacturing process.

The present invention is a fiber-reinforced article having the use of bullet-proofing, shock-absorbing and penetration-resistant against a number of high-velocity rounds in body armor, helmets, chest plates, helicopter seats, shrapnel shields and other applications. The present invention is a bullet-proof and penetration-resistant article comprising a) a front laminate and b) a second laminate, joined face-to-face. The front laminate comprises one or more plies, the front ply comprising a plurality of laminae of non-directional inorganic fibers within a matrix. A ply is defined by laminae having the same composition and structure and differing in composition and/or structure from the laminae of adjacent plies. The inorganic fibers comprise filaments having a tensile strength of at least 2.0 GPa and a density of less than 4.0 g/cm. The fiber direction within each liner is at an angle to the fiber direction within adjacent laminae. The second laminate comprises one or more plies, each of the plies comprising a plurality of laminae of polymeric fibers within a network. The polymeric fibers have a strength of at least 17 g/d. The above network optionally comprises a matrix material. The plies are defined by laminae of identical composition and structure, and differ in composition and/or structure from the laminae of adjacent plies. As used herein, a "laminate" refers to a structure in which overlapping sheet-like elements are loosely joined, for example, by stitching along the edges or stitching at the corners, or are tightly joined, for example, by bonding the entire surface area, or are joined at any intermediate level, for example, by staples, riveting, stitching, partially bonding, or by other suitable means. For the purposes of the present invention, a fiber is an elongated body whose length dimension is much greater than its transverse dimensions of width and thickness. Accordingly, a "fiber" as used herein includes one or more filaments, ribbons, strips, etc., of continuous or discontinuous length and having a regular or irregular cross-section.

Claims (1)

a) a face laminate comprising one or more plies, wherein one of the plies is a face ply comprising a plurality of laminae of non-directional inorganic fibers within a polymer matrix, wherein the laminae within one ply have the same composition and structure and the laminae within adjacent plies of the face laminate have different compositions and/or structures, wherein the inorganic fibers comprise filaments having a tensile strength of at least 2.0 GPa and a density of less than 4.0 g/cm, and wherein the fiber direction within each lamina forms an angle with the fiber direction within adjacent laminae.
b) an article comprising a second laminate joined to face said front laminate, said second laminate comprising one or more plies, each ply comprising a plurality of laminae of polymer fibers in a network structure, said polymer fibers having a strength of at least 17 g/d, said network structure optionally comprising a matrix material, wherein said laminae within a ply have the same composition and structure and wherein laminae within adjacent plies of said second laminate have different compositions and/or structures;