Advanced Body Armor Utilizing Shear Thickening Fluid Based on Nanosized Silica Particles

This study reports the ballistic penetration performance of a composite material composed of woven Kevlar® fabric impregnated with a colloidal shear thickening fluid (STF). STF comprised of Nanosized silica particles suspended in polyethylene glycol. The impregnated Kevlar fabric offers equivalent low velocity ballistic performance, on an areal density basis, to neat Kevlar fabric. Compared to neat Kevlar fabric, however, the STF-impregnated composites require fewer layers of Kevlar, resulting in a more flexible and less bulky body armor material. Possible mechanisms responsible for the enhanced ballistic and stab performance of the STF-Kevlar composite are identified.