12/08/2015

DevelopmentsinBulletProofMaterialsusingNanotechnology

August11,2015

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DevelopmentsinBulletProofMaterialsusing
Nanotechnology
ByStuartMilne

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Electronics
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Effect
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DevelopmentsinBulletProofMaterialsusingNanotechnology

Amicrobullettravelingatsupersonicspeediscapturedinthiscompositeofthreetimed
imagesasitmakesitswaytowardasuspendedsheetofmultilayergraphene.Experiments
carriedoutatRiceUniversityshowgrapheneis10timesbetterthansteelatabsorbingthe
energyofapenetratingprojectile.Thebubbleatleftisapolymerfilmexpandingawayfrom
thegoldsubstratethattransfersenergyfromalasertothemicrobullet.Clickimagefora
largerversion.CourtesyoftheThomasResearchGroup
It'shardtoimaginethenumberoflivesthathavebeensavedthankstobulletproof
materials.Soldiers,policeandotherswhoputthemselvesinharm'swaycandependon
Kevlarandotherfabricstospreadtheimpactofprojectilesandallowthemtoperform
theirjobsinrelativesafety.Now,scientistsfromRiceUniversityhaveusedmicrobullets
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DevelopmentsinBulletProofMaterialsusingNanotechnology

toanalysegraphenesstrengthintheseapplications.

BulletProofNano
Untilrecently,mostantiballisticmaterialsthatwereusedinsuchproductsasbulletproof
jackets,explosionproofblankets,andothers,weremadeofKevlar,TwaronorDyneema
fibers,whichstopbulletsfrompenetratingthesurfacebyspreadingandabsorbingtheimpact
ofthebullet'sforce.
Theseproductswereasignificantstepforwardinprotectingthewearer,butoftenstillresulted
inthetargetsufferingfrombluntforcetrauma,severebruising,orworse,damagetovital
organs.Thisisbecauseeventhoughthebulletwasstopped,theforcestilleventuallyreached
thewearerandcouldresultininjury.

VideoCourtesyofRiceUniversityYouTubeChannel
LeadresearcherEdwinThomasfromRiceUniversity,hasdemonstratedthatfiringmicroscopic
projectilesatmultilayergraphenesheetsallowedhisteamtomeasurehowdifficultitisto
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DevelopmentsinBulletProofMaterialsusingNanotechnology

penetratethegrapheneonthenanoscale.
Researchhasoftenfocusedongrapheneselectronicpropertiesandtensilestrength,butthese
newfindingshowgraphenesabilitytobestiff,strongandelasticallatonce.These
characteristicscouldofferapplicationsinbodyarmourandaerospaceshielding.

Theresearchteambuiltatailormadestagetolineupmultilayergraphenesheets.Usinga
highspeedcameras,theteamwereabletocapturedetailedimagesoftheprojectiles
penetratingthesheets.Edwinandhisteamwereabletodeterminethatgrapheneactslikea
stretchymembrane,distributingthebulletsenergyoveralargearea.
Thegameinprotectionisgettingthestresstodistributeoveralargearea.
Itsarace.Iftheconecanmoveoutatanappreciablevelocitycompared
withthevelocityoftheprojectile,thestressisntlocalizedbeneaththe
projectile.
EdwinThomas,GeorgeR.BrownSchoolofEngineeringatRiceUniversity

CarbonNanotubes
AteamofresearchersfromtheUniversityofWollogong,haverecentlydevelopedanew
graphenecompositematerialwhichisstrongerthanspidersilkandKevlar.
Findingtherightratioofgraphenetocarbonnanotubesisakeyfactorinthedevelopmentof
thebulletproofcomposites.Thenewgraphenecompositecaneasilybemadeusingawet
spinningmethod,producingfibreswhichhavepotentialapplicationsinbulletproofarmourand
reinforcementmaterials.

Beehive
Carbonnanotubeshavealsobeenusedextensivelyinthepursuitfornanobulletproof
materials.Withabeehiveshapedstructureandcylindricalnature,thesenanotubeshave
demonstratedincrediblestrength.
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ImageCaption:Themoleculardynamicsmodelofacarbonnanotubesubjectedtoballistic
impact.(a)Initialmodel,(b)Adeformed(18,0)nanotubeatitsmaximumenergy
absorptionImageReference:DickinsonCollege
Thesetubesarecappedateachendandformedtogetherwithcovalentbondstoproduce
nanofibersthatarehundredsoftimesstrongerthansteel.Eventhebondsthemselvesare
strongerthanthosefoundindiamonds,thehardestsubstanceknowntoman.
Theresultingcarbonnanotubesarelight,flexible,strongandthermallystable.Inabullet
proofvest,millionsofthesenanotubescometogethertoformcarbonnanofibres,whichare
woventogethertocreateandlightweightmaterial.Theresultingcarbonnanofibersarevery
goodatabsorbingenergymakingthemidealforbulletproofarmour.

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AteamfromtheCentreforAdvancedMaterialsTechnologyattheUniversityofSydneyhave
alreadycreatedamaterialwhichcanreboundtheforceofabulletusingthesematerials.
AnotherexampleofthiscanbefoundintheGarrisonBespokebulletproofsuit.Thesuitusesa
thinpatentedcarbonnanotubematerialwhichsitsbetweentheliningsofthesuit.Thesuit
protectstheownerfromstabbings,bulletsandanyotherprojectileswhichmaycauseharm.

Conclusion
Therearelotsofpotentialapplicationsforbulletproofnanomaterials,buttheystillfacemany
challenges.

CathodeMagnetronSystems

Theprimaryproblemwithgraphenenanotechnologythusfarhasbeencreatingadequatetests
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DevelopmentsinBulletProofMaterialsusingNanotechnology

ofthematerialsthatareusefulpriortofieldtesting.Currenttestsprovidelittlereliable
evidenceofthematerial'srealstrengthintheusesagainsthighspeedprojectiles.
Inthemostrecenttests,JaeHwangLeeandhiscolleguesattheUniversityofMassachusetts
Amhersthavedevisedaballisticstestthatpitsthegraphenenanotubesagainstlaserpulses
thathavebeensuperheateduntiltheyvaporize,whichactslikegunpowdertofirea
micrometersizeglassbulletinto10to100sheetsofgrapheneat3kilometerspersecond,
aboutthreetimesthespeedofabulletfiredfromanM16rifle.
Theresultofthesetestshaveshownthatthegraphenenanotubesabsorbtheimpactby
stretchingintoaconeshapeatthepointofthebullet'sstrike,thencrackingoutward.The
cracksthatareformedaretheoneweaknessthatthematerialshaveshowedthusfar.
However,itisimportanttonotethatdespitethisweakness,thematerialstillperformedbetter
thanKevlarandabsorbs10timesthekineticenergythatsteelcan.Itisalsoimportanttonote
thatbyassemblingmultiplelayersofthegraphenematerialorcombiningthemintoa
compositematerialcouldprovetobethesolutiontothisproblem.
Itsclearthatnanotechnologyishelpingmaterialscientistsimprovecurrentmethodsfor
creatingbulletproofmaterialsandthiscouldleadtothedevelopmentofotherhigh
performancematerialsinthefuture.

References
MicrobullethitsconfirmgraphenesstrengthRiceUniversity
Themoleculardynamicsmodelofacarbonnanotubesubjectedtoballisticimpact
DicksonCollege
BULLETPROOFNANOTECHNOLOGY
UOWRESEARCHERSDEVELOPBULLETPROOFGRAPHENEUOW
DateAdded:Dec8,2014|Updated:Dec8,2014

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