Land Engineering

Keeping soldiers safe

Being a soldier can be very dangerous work, but one way they help to stay safe is by wearing protective clothing, or armour.

Armour is great for shielding their bodies but because it is often heavy, soldiers find it very hot and tiring to wear.

What they needed was a new type of armour to keep them safer than ever before, but which was light enough to let them move freely.

The answer is ‘liquid armour’

The engineers and scientists at BAE Systems developed a new material that did all of the things that the soldiers needed. They called it ‘liquid armour’.

What makes the ‘liquid armour’ so special is that it contains a liquid that hardens when something hits it.

It can also be combined with Kevlar, which is a really tough material that body armour is often made of. Together, ‘liquid armour’ and Kevlar are incredibly strong, plus they are a lot thinner and lighter than other armour.

How ‘liquid armour’ works

‘Liquid armour’ is best explained by the example of stirring water with a spoon. In water you feel little resistance and it is easy to stir. With ‘liquid armour’, you feel much more resistance as the elements in the liquid lock together. The faster you stir, the harder it gets.

This means that when ‘liquid armour’ is hit it will do a better job of absorbing the impact, and reducing the risk of the soldier being hurt.

A range of possible uses in the future

Tests have shown that ‘liquid armour’ technology makes it possible to make armour that is thinner and stronger than before. BAE Systems now hope to create a lightweight version of the material and use it to make the best body armour possible.

This new armour may also be available to police forces and ambulance crews in the future.

Keeping soldiers safe

When soldiers find themselves in dangerous situations a long way from home and in extreme conditions, they rely on their protective equipment to help keep them safe.

The ceramic-based plates used in current body armour systems cover large areas of the body, but can be heavy and bulky. Not only do they restrict movement but in warm environments like Afghanistan they are very tiring to wear.

The challenge was there to come up with an armour solution that offers soldiers greater protection from explosions and better ease of movement in combat situations.

What is ‘liquid armour’?

The engineers and scientists at BAE Systems are developing a material that combines increased protection with reduced mass, wider area coverage, greater manoeuvrability and easy integration with other systems.

They called this new material ‘liquid armour’.

What makes it unique is that it features a liquid that hardens when struck, as the thickening fluids in the armour ‘lock’ together.

It can also be combined with standard Kevlar body armour. Together the two materials offer superior freedom of motion and a reduction in overall thickness of up to 45 per cent.

How ‘liquid armour’ works

Stewart Penney, Head of Business Development for Design and Materials Technologies at BAE Systems, explains how ‘liquid armour’ works:

“The technology is best explained by the example of stirring water with a spoon. In water you feel little resistance to the spoon. Whereas with ‘liquid armour’, you would feel significant resistance as the elements in the fluid lock together. The faster you stir, the harder it gets, so when a projectile impacts the material at speed, it hardens very quickly and absorbs the impact energy.”

When combined with Kevlar, the reduced flow of the fluids in the liquid armour restricts the motion of the fabric yarns. The result is an increase in the area over which the impact energy is dispersed.

This makes the material far less likely to distort than standard body armour, which generally bends inwards when a bullet strikes, preventing death, but causing considerable pain.

A range of possible uses in the future

Trials conducted at BAE Systems’ Advanced Technology Centre have shown that ‘liquid armour’ allows thinner than standard protection to withstand equivalent levels of forces. BAE Systems hope to further develop the technology to create a lightweight version of the material and incorporate it into body armour systems.

Other uses are also being considered, beyond the military. Just some of the people who may also find this new technology of interest include police forces and ambulance crews.

Keeping soldiers safe

Being a soldier can be very dangerous work, but the risks can be reduced with the help of protective clothing. Ideally, this should not only help keep them safe, but also allow them the freedom of movement they need to do their job.

The ceramic-based plates often used in protective clothing cover large areas of the body, but can be heavy and bulky to wear. This can greatly restrict movement and in warm environments such as Afghanistan, soldiers can quickly get tired.

So the challenge was there to devise an armour solution that offers soldiers excellent ballistic protection plus greater ease of movement in combat situations.

The answer is ‘liquid armour’

The engineers and scientists at BAE Systems took up the challenge of developing a material that offers troops increased protection with reduced mass, wider area coverage, greater manoeuvrability and easy integration with other systems.

The result of their work was the development of what is dubbed ‘liquid armour’.

What makes this unique is that it features a counterintuitive liquid that hardens when hit, with the special properties of the shear thickening fluids ‘locking’ together.

It can also be incorporated into standard Kevlar body armour. When combined, the two materials offer superior freedom of motion and a reduction in overall thickness of up to 45 per cent.

How ‘liquid armour’ works

Stewart Penney, Head of Business Development for Design and Materials Technologies at BAE Systems, explains how ‘liquid armour’ works:

“The technology is best explained by the example of stirring water with a spoon. In water you feel little resistance to the spoon. Whereas with ‘liquid armour’, you would feel significant resistance as the elements in the fluid lock together. The faster you stir, the harder it gets, so when a projectile impacts the material at speed, it hardens very quickly and absorbs the impact energy.”

When combined with Kevlar, the reduced flow of the fluids in the liquid armour restricts the motion of the fabric yarns. This means an increase in area over which the impact energy is dispersed.

The material is therefore far less likely to distort than standard body armour, which generally bends inwards when a bullet strikes, preventing death, but causing considerable pain.

A range of possible uses in the future

Trials conducted at BAE Systems’ Advanced Technology Centre show that this new technology allows thinner than standard armour to withstand equivalent levels of forces. BAE Systems hope to further develop ‘liquid armour’, to create a lightweight version of the material and incorporate it into body armour systems.

Other uses are also being considered beyond the military, and it may be made available to police forces and ambulance crews in the future.