Various embodiments of a spiral shaped element and wavy suture are disclosed for use in a shock mitigating material to dissipate the energy associated with the impact of an object. The shock mitigating material can be used in helmets, bumpers, bulletproof vests, mats, pads, military armor, and other applications. One embodiment, among others, is a shock mitigating material having spiral shaped elements, each having a circular cross section and each being tapered from a large outside end to a small inside end but also having a suture or sutures that can induce shear waves to mitigate the shock pressure and impulse. Another embodiment is a shock mitigating material having sutures (wavy gaps or wavy materials). In this embodiment when the material is impacted, the wavy gap or material will induce a mechanism in shear to dissipate the impact energy.

Disclosed is a chain mail constituted of a lattice of interlinked metal rings, in particular for personal protective equipment. The chain mail rings are made using a stainless steel wire whereof the mechanical tensile strength (Rm) is between 1,600 and 2,550 N/mm.sup.2, limits included.

Armor comprises an array of tiles or pellets confined between at least a pair of sheets, and in which at least one of said at least a pair of sheets is weakened overlying boundaries between adjacent tiles or pellets.

A composite structure (10) includes a first outer skin (12); a second outer skin (14); and a core (16) sandwiched between the first outer skin (12) and the second outer skin (14). The core (16) includes a plurality of spaced apart ridges (18) between the first outer skin (12) and the second outer skin (14), each of the spaced apart ridges (18) extending from one end (20) of the composite structure (10) to an opposite end (22); and a plurality of connecting elements (24) between the first outer skin (12) and the second outer skin (14) configured to intersect with the ridges (18) to form open channels (26) within the core (16). At least one of the first outer skin (12), the second outer skin (14) and the core (16) includes: a plurality of composite plies including at least a first composite ply and a second composite ply, the first composite ply and the second composite ply each including a plurality of fibers in a thermoplastic matrix; the plurality of composite plies being bonded together to form a composite laminate.

A reactive armour module and method for providing protection against a tandem warhead, the tandem warhead providing a primary explosion followed after a small preset delay by a main explosion, the method comprising detecting the primary explosion, and detonating a directed blast, towards the end of the small preset delay, that disrupts the secondary explosion.

The invention is a method for applying ballistic protection to a vehicle door to protect against ballistic impact comprising: obtaining a plurality of ballistic-resistant panels, inserting each of said plurality of ballistic-resistant panels into an interior cavity of the vehicle door; and attaching each said plurality of ballistic-resistant panels to an interior surface of an exterior door panel of the vehicle door so as to form said contiguous ballistic-resistant panel assembly inside said interior cavity.

A composite material system having an aggregate bound by an elastomer encapsulant. The composite material (CM) is designed to defeat impinging projectiles by converting the kinetic energy (KE) in the projectile to damage in the aggregate and the elastomer and increasing the thermal energy in the CM and the projectile via frictional heating. In one embodiment, the CM comprises certain kinds of rocks encapsulated (or bound) in a hyper-elastic polymer, such as polyurethane (PU). The CM may be shaped into convenient shapes from modular assembly to create a ballistic resistant surface.

Multi-impact multi-layer body armor is presented. A first layer is a single layer of front covering material. A second layer, is a ballistic ceramic plate formed of a plurality of curved smaller ceramic tiles that are bonded together using a structural adhesive. A third layer formed of one or a plurality of aramid layers such as Kevlar XP. A fourth layer formed of a rigid backing plate, formed of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene such as Spectra Shield. A fifth layer is a single layer of rear covering material. Thus, an improved body armor is presented which is inexpensive to produce, light, durable and can sustain multiple impacts.

A baffle system includes a baffle (40) located in a tank (16) for containing liquid (e.g. an aircraft fuel tank). The baffle (40) is a tubular member through which a liquid may flow. The baffle (40) comprises: a first tubular portion (42) providing a tubular outer wall, and a second tubular portion (44) located within the first tubular portion (42) and providing a tubular inner wall. The first and second tubular portions (42, 44) are substantially parallel. The first and second tubular portions (42, 44) are spaced apart to define a chamber (46) therebetween. The baffle (42, 44) further comprises radial side walls between the first and second tubular portions (42, 44) such that the chamber (46) is a sealed chamber. The chamber (46) may be filled with a compressible gas or gaseous mixture.

Embodiments of the present application includes methods and structures for Anti-Ballistic Shelters, including an anti-ballistic shelter having a frame comprising at least one support member, and one or more surfaces comprising a flexible high strength layered anti-ballistic material attached to said frame, wherein said flexible high strength layered anti-ballistic material is layered in at least two directions; and further wherein said layered anti-ballistic material is enveloped around said frame.