Do air-gaps behind soft body armour affect protection?

Tilsley, Lee; Carr, Debra J.; Lankester, Claire; Malbon, C.

doi:10.1136/jramc-2016-000759

Cited by 7 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…One of the main areas of concern with relation to armour design for females is the correct fit. Tilsley et al, demonstrated that a 10 mm airgap under the armour can increase the risk of a ballistic projectile perforating the armour when compared to an armour that is close fitting to the body (Tilsley et al, 2018). Air gaps can form above, between and below the breast depending on how the armour is designed which could potential result in a ballistic perforation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of breast size and bra type on comfort for UK female police officers wearing body armour

et al. 2020

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Within the Police service of England and Wales the wearing of ballistic and stab resistant body armour is common, with most police forces mandating its usage when away from the police station. Of all the serving police officers in England and Wales 29.1% are female (Hargreaves et al., 2017). A survey was developed and then distributed by the Police Federation of England and Wales to all servicing police officers up to the rank of Inspector. The survey returned 2633 responses after cleaning of the data. From the responses it was seen that the predominant bra type worn is underwired (71%) and the predominant UK bra size is 34B (9%). It was also determined that the predominant areas where the body armour either rubbed or caused discomfort were the left and right anterior mammary regions and the posterior lateral sacral region. By understanding the distribution of bra size, type of bra worn and areas of discomfort or rubbing it helps further understand the issues faced by female police officers and how body armour design could be improved.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of breast size and bra type on comfort for UK female police officers wearing body armour

et al. 2020

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“…Secondly, body armour is designed to sit close to the body to aid the dissipation of energy during a ballistic impact. It has been shown in previous work, that even small air gaps of 10 mm can increase the probability of a round perforating the armour (Tilsley et al ., 2018).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

The effect of underwired and sports bras on breast shape, key anthropometric dimensions, and body armour comfort

Malbon

Knock

Critchley

et al. 2021

The Police Journal: Theory, Practice and Principles

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This study follows on previous research which investigated the comfort and types of bras worn by UK female police officers when wearing body armour and performing typical activities. This controlled study involved a cohort of 31 female police officers and investigated three main areas. Firstly the effect of professional bra fitting on size and comfort, secondly the effect of wearing an underwired bra or a sports bra on comfort and ability to perform certain actions, and thirdly the effect of an underwired bra and sports bra on key anthropometric data in relation to the fitting of body armour.

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“…Hard armor often consists of composite or ceramic plates and is mainly used to protect the thorax and abdomen ( Breeze et al, 2016 ; Neves Monteiro et al, 2017 ). It can achieve high levels of protection, but can be heavy and cumbersome ( Tilsley et al, 2018 ). Soft armor typically consists of flexible fabric panels, commonly in knitted or woven form, made from synthetic aromatic polyamides (aramids) or high-performance polyethylene (HPPE).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gelatine Backing Affects the Performance of Single-Layer Ballistic-Resistant Materials Against Blast Fragments

Nguyen

Meek

Breeze

et al. 2020

Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol.

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Penetrating trauma by energized fragments is the most common injury from explosive devices, the main threat in the contemporary battlefield. Such devices produce projectiles dependent upon their design, including preformed fragments, casings, glass, or stones; these are subsequently energized to high velocities and cause serious injuries to the body. Current body armor focuses on the essential coverage, which is mainly the thoracic and abdominal area, and can be heavy and cumbersome. In addition, there may be coverage gaps that can benefit from the additional protection provided by one or more layers of lightweight ballistic fabrics. This study assessed the performance of single layers of commercially available ballistic protective fabrics such as Kevlar R , Twaron R , and Dyneema R , in both woven and knitted configurations. Experiments were carried out using a custom-built gas-gun system, with a 0.78-g cylindrical steel fragment simulating projectile (FSP) as the impactor, and ballistic gelatine as the backing material. FSP velocity at 50% risk of material perforation, gelatine penetration, and high-risk wounding to soft tissue, as well as the depth of penetration (DoP) against impact velocity and the normalized energy absorption were used as metrics to rank the performance of the materials tested. Additional tests were performed to investigate the effect of not including a soft-tissue simulant backing material on the performance of the fabrics. The results show that a thin layer of ballistic material may offer meaningful protection against the penetration of this FSP. Additionally, it is essential to ensure a biofidelic boundary condition as the protective efficacy of fabrics was markedly altered by a gelatine backing.

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Do air-gaps behind soft body armour affect protection?

Abstract: This work suggested that an air-gap behind police body armour might result in an increased likelihood of injury. It is recommended that body armour is worn with no air-gap underneath.

Cited by 7 publications

References 3 publications

The effect of breast size and bra type on comfort for UK female police officers wearing body armour

The effect of breast size and bra type on comfort for UK female police officers wearing body armour

The effect of underwired and sports bras on breast shape, key anthropometric dimensions, and body armour comfort

Gelatine Backing Affects the Performance of Single-Layer Ballistic-Resistant Materials Against Blast Fragments

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