PROTECTIVE CLOTHING

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10 broad categories

PROTECH (Protective textiles)

Technical

textiles

Agrotech Build

tech

Clothtech

Geotech

HometechIndu

tech

Medtech

Mobiltech

PROTECH

Sportech

INTRODUCTION

Nowadays safety and protective textile have become an integral part in one or other form. Safety and protective textile refer to garment and other fabric related items designed to protect the wearer from harsh environmental effects that may result in injury or death.

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Textile used Industrial textile is used to protect from one or more of following

:-

Extreme heat and fire . Harmful chemicals and gases . Bacterial environment . Electric hazards . Radiation .

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Selection Of Protective ClothingMaterials

Ballistic protection

Of the last 3,422 years, only 268 years have been free from armed conflicts somewhere in the world.

Defence

textiles

History Pre Twentieth century

Normally heavy & uncomfortable uniform for wear.Produced from natural fibers or heavy metal is used.Uncomfortable for soldiers.

Twentieth Century

Light weight & durable, many high performance fibers came into usage.

Twentieth century

Pre Twentieth

century

Materials Used• Earlier silk & metal was used.• But now high Performance fibres are used like

• Kevlar - Polyphenylene terephthalamide, 5 times stronger than steel. Properties like tensile strength at

low weight, low elongation at break, high modulus

high chemical resistance etc.

• Dyneema – polyethylene, 10-100 times stronger than steel. Properties like very high strength to weight ratio & light enough to float on water.

• Twaron - para-aramid, 5 times stronger than steel.

Cont…..• Spectra - polyethylene fibers.10-100 times stronger

than steel, high strength.

• Spider silk – protein, 25 times stronger than steel

c Requirement

Properties provided by

technical textiles

DURABILITY

COMFORT

LIGHT WEIGHT

FUNCTIONAL CRITERIA

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTSPROPERTY COMMENTS

Light weight and low bulk Items have to be carried by individuals.

High durability and dimensional stability

Must operate reliably in adverse conditions

Good handle and drape comfortable

Low noise and antistatic No rustle and no sparks

ENVIRONMENTAL REQUIREMENTS

PROPERTY COMMENTS

Water-repellent, water proof & wind proof

For exterior materials exposed to cold weather

Thermally insulating For cold climates

Water vapour permeable For clothing and personel equipment

Rot-resistant For tents, covers, nets

UV resistant light Environment with sunlight

biodegradable If discarded or buried

CAMOUFLAGE, CONCEALMENT AND DECEPTION REQUIREMENTS

PROPERTY COMMENTS

Visual spectrum Exposed materials match visual colours

Ultra voilet In snow & ice regions

Near infrared To match reflectance of background

Far infrared To minimise heat emitted by humans & equipment

Acoustic emissions Rustle noises detected by microphones & sensors

TEXTILES FOR CAMOUFLAGE,CONCEALMENT & DECEPTION

-Under UV band:Titanium dioxide pigment as a coating-Under visible band:Khaki, brown, black and green colours used for uniforms.Light weight polyurethane or acrylic coated nylon.

-Under visible band:Khaki, brown, black and green colours used for uniforms.Light weight polyurethane or acrylic coated nylon

SPECIFIC BATTLE FIELD HAZARDS

TYPES COMMENTS

Ballistic fragments Bombs,grenades

Low & high velocity bullets Hand guns, pistols

Chemical & biological agents Blood agents, nerve agents, bacteria

ECONOMIC CONSIDERATIONS

PROPERTY COMMENTS

Easy care & min maintainance Non iron, smart

Long storage life & minimal cost War stock to be stored for 10-20 yrs

disposable Nuclear & chemical contamination

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frag-ments

bullets other

59%

19% 22%

Causes for ballistic casualties in gen-

eral war

Causes of injuries

Improvised explosives devices

What is ballistic protection???

Principles of Construction

Fabric layers in the armor• Energy dissipation

and reduction

Weave• Plain balanced weave• More cross-over points• Large surface area .

Requirements • Ballistic performance• Comfortable clothing

Ballistic vest PASGT

construction Helmet/vest

combined protection

V50 = 1650 ft/s Reduce back-face

deformation by 15% Meets NIJ (national

institute of justicw)standards

10% lighterMaintains

performance even after exposure

Ballistic helmets

PASGT helmets 19 layers – Kevlar 29

Type II, polyvinyl butyral and phenol formaldehyde resins

Compressing molding technique

Ballistic and flame protection

V50 = 2000 ft/s

Lightweight PASGT helmets 34 layers – Kevlar

29 Type III Light weight CVC helmets –

super fragmentation resistance at lower weight

V50 = 2150 ft/s

Designing for ballistic protection

Ballistic resistanc

e material

Required degree of protection

Final weight of uniform

Comfort and ease

of movement

Blunt trauma

protection

steel1978

1992materials of today

500

720 750750

3836

3227

Ballistic material per-formance versus weight

ballistic limit (m/s) weight (oz/sq.ft)

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Soft armour :-

20-30 layers stitched together.

Kevlar Spectra

Hard aemour :-

Multi-layered fabrics

Vinyl ester Epoxy

Levels of protection

no armor helmets are worn

armor is worn

armor and helmet is

worn

80%

61%

40%

15%

Casualty levels Total fatalities

when no armor is there

19% reduction when helmet is worn

40% reduction when armor is worn

65% reduction when helmet and armor is worn

This estimation in casualties is based on the troops standing in open, threatened by a

mortar bomb

Conclusions Gearing towards an integrated future

The general aims of future systems are: Improve protection against natural and battlefield threats Maintain thermo-physiological comfort or survival in extreme conditions Improve compatibility between and within different clothing components Reduce weight and bulk of materials Integrate functionality so that fewer layers provide multi layer

protection Reduce life cycle costs by making systems more effective, durable, and

recyclable and by buying few components in the system