In the past being protected by body armor was synonymous for bulk, weight , uncomfortable and mass. However over the years, many manufacturers like Dupont have gone a long way to improve the traditional body armors for police and the military especially when they introduced KEVLAR. KEVLAR has increased the protection and comfort of the body armor while reducing the mass and weight.
Today, there is a new substance in use called Spectra, a composite material that is stronger, lighter, and more flexible than Kevlar, which is changing the face of bullet proof wear for our troops and police forces. What are the major differences between Kevlar and Spectra, and what are the big advantages of the latter?
If we examine the structure of the two we see that Kevlar is made from a high strength and high performance fiber who’s properties are not yet entirely understood despite the fact that it has been used in bullet proof clothing for many years. A more or less exact description is difficult but you should try to see it is that the molecules form into sheets that then stack themselves around the center of a fiber like spokes. Stacking together several layers of Kevlar in a woven pattern creates the bullet proof material.
The weaving would then “catch” the bullet by allowing the fibers to break apart layer by layer and absorb the velocity, slowing the bullet to a stop as it also dulled and flattened from striking the material. However, this was mostly effective when bullets were slower and had less total velocity, making them easier to stop. Now, our troops and law enforcement officials face much more technically advanced weaponry with bullets flying at higher speeds and constructed from harder metals.
Kevlar vests are stretched to their limits and beyond by modern day weapons and bullets and from time to time they get penetrated completely by very forceful guns. The only way to solve this problem with Kevlar is to add more layers of Kevlar to the material resulting again in bulky, heavier and less flexible bullet proof vests.
Since Spectra is a completely new and different technology , there is no need for layers due to the fact that Spectra is not a woven fabric. It is about 40% more lighter than Kevlar which makes it very useful for comfortable bullet proof vests