Body Armor Spectrashield vs Kevlar
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Body Armor: Spectra Shield vs. Kevlar
In the past, it was common to construct body armor using Kevlar, but today's modern body armor calls for hybrid thermoplastic materials like Spectra Shield. Spectra Shield is an ultra-high-strength polyethylene composite that has a tensile strength of 35 grams per denier (which is a measure of textile strength), while Kevlar has only 23 grams per denier. And whereas Kevlar is a woven fabric, Spectra Shield is made from layers of unidirectional fibers. Thus making Spectra Shield the strongest, lightest, composite, ballistic material on the market today.
In manufacturing Spectra Shield, ultra high molecular weight polyethylene is first dissolved in a solvent and spun through a series of small orifices, called spinnerets. The solution is then cooled, and the resulting Spectra fibers are used to make Spectra Shield composite, which consists of two layers of Spectra fiber arranged to cross each other at 0- and 90-degree angles and held in place by a flexible resin. Both the fiber and resin layers are sealed between two thin sheets of polyethylene film that is similar in appearance to saran wrap. The resulting non-woven fabric is ten times stronger than steel, lightweight, and has excellent ballistic protection capabilities.
So when a bullet strikes body armor, Spectra Shield's "web" of fibers, absorbs and disperses the impact energy transmitted to the vest, thus causing the bullet to deform or "mushroom...