Application of Wool in High-velocity Ballistic Protective Fabrics
Application of Wool in High-velocity Ballistic Protective Fabrics
Synthetic fibre spun into yarns find wide usage in the making of multilayered protective fabrics that to withstand high-velocity ballistic projectiles with several reports of deplorable failures. However, hypothesizing that wool can be used enhance the success rates of the synthetic fibres in protective gears, researchers Sinnppoo, Arnold and Padhye (2010) conducted a research to ascertain the utility of wool in improving the effectiveness of High-velocity Ballistic Protective Fabrics.
According to the researchers, the process of stopping a high-velocity projectile is a complex process that is influenced by a plethora of factors hence the need for a multilayered Ballistic Protective Fabric that works on the principal that a speeding ballistic projectile loses energy differently at each stage of deceleration. In the same way, the mode of failure of the yarns is variant at each layer of the protective fabric. Notably, failures of the yarns are always influenced by many factors such are the shape of the projectile, direction of energy dissipation and extensibility of the yarns.
With regards to designing the blends of the fabrics and wool, the researchers asseverated that this could be done based on the existing ballistic fabrics. The laboratory trials by the researchers were done with Kevlar yarns, which were then substituted with ballistic nylon. Incorporation of wool was done during weaving as they could not be efficaciously incorporated into already spun fabrics.
The researchers, as reported in the article, evaluated the fabric-wool blend against Kevlar A363; Kevlar A363 was the control for the study. Three major tests were carried out; Yarn Pull-in Tests, Tear Strength Test and NIJ Level IIIA Ballistic Tests. The researchers found that the blend, felted or unfelted, was overly effective relative to pure Kevlar. Concisely, the success rates of the protective ballistic fabrics improved as a result of blending the fabrics with wool.
Reference
Sinnppoo, K., Arnold, L, & Padhye, R. (2010). Application of Wool in High-velocity Ballistic Protective Fabrics. Textile Research Journal, 80(11): 1083–1092. doi: 10.1177/0040517509352517
