BlackWorksInc
New member
So... this has been rolling around in my head for a while mostly because it was something I thought of as a kid; well not the bullet proof part, that was a couple years ago when I read up on some research into it.
Anyways, I was just curious if anyone on the forum actually had some hands on experience and/or information regarding this subject.
I've seen that most STF (Shear Thickening Fluid) armor seems to be simply saturating the Kevlar with the fluid; though I'm not entirely sure how they suspend the fluid properly without it simply sliding to the bottom. In my mind I was thinking various pockets/semi-rigid foam like substrate to hold the fluid in place (I'm sure its not as viscous as say syrup, but it'd still flow since its a "fluid"). But those ideas seemed to contradict the nature of the concept, I figured that the pockets or "foam" like substrate would not transfer the force of an impact as readily as pure STF and thus prevent a wider dispersion of force across a larger area; possibly allowing more penetration as a result?
Most of the videos and "how it works" stuff is really bare bones and doesn't go too much into detail about it...
I was wondering if a "gel" would be a much better solution as it would not flow as freely and would also allow movement, while potentially having a "self-healing" factor without the STF "bleeding" out of the puncture caused by a round? But the matter of retaining shape over a large swatch of clothing/armor would be difficult as you would run into the similar issue I was wondering in terms of the "pockets" reducing effectiveness of dispersing impact force? Another idea involved porous honeycomb filler that would allow the STF to saturate it and still permeate the section of armor like a filter in a hydraulic system?
Also I see that BAE is using Silica particulates in a suspension, would there be a benefit to using another material? What is the density vs. conventional armor and plating? What is its maximum threshold? (i.e. most bullets travel too fast to stop corn starch/ooblek but it does stop BBs)
Hmm... also could you use a material that gave off an electrical current similar to how piezoelectric generators (knock sensors being analogous to this...) as a way to determine direction of impact? Perhaps as vehicle armor combining it with a thick, flexible polymer casing and using molded ceramic plating with meshing built into the plates to force the ceramic to crumble and absorb larger amounts of force while not spreading apart, then using the encased STF underneath to dissipate explosive force and/or shrapnel?
I don't know... Maybe I'm over thinking all this.. or under-thinking it? I dunno... this stuff seems like a very good concept that can be utilized in combination with existing technology in various ways; actually thinking of a couple non-military applications at the moment as I write this...
Anyways, I was just curious if anyone on the forum actually had some hands on experience and/or information regarding this subject.
I've seen that most STF (Shear Thickening Fluid) armor seems to be simply saturating the Kevlar with the fluid; though I'm not entirely sure how they suspend the fluid properly without it simply sliding to the bottom. In my mind I was thinking various pockets/semi-rigid foam like substrate to hold the fluid in place (I'm sure its not as viscous as say syrup, but it'd still flow since its a "fluid"). But those ideas seemed to contradict the nature of the concept, I figured that the pockets or "foam" like substrate would not transfer the force of an impact as readily as pure STF and thus prevent a wider dispersion of force across a larger area; possibly allowing more penetration as a result?
Most of the videos and "how it works" stuff is really bare bones and doesn't go too much into detail about it...
I was wondering if a "gel" would be a much better solution as it would not flow as freely and would also allow movement, while potentially having a "self-healing" factor without the STF "bleeding" out of the puncture caused by a round? But the matter of retaining shape over a large swatch of clothing/armor would be difficult as you would run into the similar issue I was wondering in terms of the "pockets" reducing effectiveness of dispersing impact force? Another idea involved porous honeycomb filler that would allow the STF to saturate it and still permeate the section of armor like a filter in a hydraulic system?
Also I see that BAE is using Silica particulates in a suspension, would there be a benefit to using another material? What is the density vs. conventional armor and plating? What is its maximum threshold? (i.e. most bullets travel too fast to stop corn starch/ooblek but it does stop BBs)
Hmm... also could you use a material that gave off an electrical current similar to how piezoelectric generators (knock sensors being analogous to this...) as a way to determine direction of impact? Perhaps as vehicle armor combining it with a thick, flexible polymer casing and using molded ceramic plating with meshing built into the plates to force the ceramic to crumble and absorb larger amounts of force while not spreading apart, then using the encased STF underneath to dissipate explosive force and/or shrapnel?
I don't know... Maybe I'm over thinking all this.. or under-thinking it? I dunno... this stuff seems like a very good concept that can be utilized in combination with existing technology in various ways; actually thinking of a couple non-military applications at the moment as I write this...
