kevlar was first used as body armor in the mid-1970s.
kevlar was first used as body armor in the mid-1970s.
when was kevlar first used as body armor?
in the mid-1970s
in 1971, research chemist stephanie kwolek discovered a liquid crystalline polymer solution. its exceptional strength and stiffness led to the invention of kevlar, a synthetic fibre, woven into a fabric and layered, that, by weight, has five times the tensile strength of steel. in the mid-1970s, dupont the company which employed kwolek introduced kevlar. immediately kevlar was incorporated into a national institute of justice (nij) evaluation program to provide lightweight, able body armor to a test pool of american law enforcement officers to ascertain if everyday able wearing was possible. lester shubin, a program manager at the nij, managed this law enforcement feasibility study within a few selected large police agencies, and quickly determined that kevlar body armor could be comfortably worn by police daily, and would save lives.
bulletproof vest
kevlar soft armor had its shortcomings because if "large fragments or high velocity bullets hit the vest, the energy could cause life-threatening, blunt trauma injuries" in selected, vital areas. ranger body armor was developed for the american military in 1991. although it was the second modern us body armor that was able to stop rifle caliber rounds and still be light enough to be worn by infantry soldiers in the field, (first being the isapo, or interim small arms protective overvest,) it still had its flaws: "it was still heavier than the concurrently issued pasgt (personal armor system for ground troops) anti-fragmentation armor worn by regular infantry and ... did not have the same degree of ballistic protection around the neck and shoulders." the format of ranger body armor (and more recent body armor issued to us special operations units) highlights the trade-offs between force protection and mobility that modern body armor forces organizations to address.
bulletproof vest