At the just-concluded World Textile Conference, Wuhan Textile University reached a cooperation intention with the University of Manchester, a leading international university in the field of materials, and will jointly build China’s first three-dimensional textile technology laboratory by the end of this year. Its technology can be widely used in the manufacturing of advanced body armor, automobiles, aircraft and other materials, and is expected to break the monopoly of Europe and the United States.
Zhang Shangyong, a professor at the school, said that mankind is in the initial stage of the polymer era, and more and more synthetic materials such as carbon fiber and aramid are used in daily life. In particular, fiber-reinforced composite materials are being flocked to by developed countries in Europe and the United States. They are currently the leading high-end materials in terms of strength, lightness, wear resistance, shock resistance, and breathability. For example, its application in the shell of the BMW I8 series can make the car lighter and more fuel-efficient. Russia is even using the material to replace steel bars in overpass construction. A more direct application is body armor and bulletproof helmets. At present, the bulletproof vests produced in China have high bulletproof standards and can only achieve level four. Europe and the United States have been able to produce top-level seven-level body armor. Many of them use fiber-reinforced composite materials, but they are technically blocked from the outside world.
Zhang Shangyong said: “All clothes are made using flat weaving technology, while fiber-reinforced composite materials use three-dimensional textile technology. We are now studying this technology in the hope of eventually producing better three-dimensional body armor, bulletproof helmets, etc.” Fiber products can even replace most metal products. This is the breakthrough for the transformation of my country’s textile industry.”
According to reports, bulletproof fabrics made with three-dimensional textile technology have special mechanical properties, can quickly filter and absorb the energy generated by bullet impact, and are much lighter and thinner than the 30 to 50 layer thick bulletproof vests currently on the market. The school speculates that if the project is successfully launched by the end of this year, it is expected that this top-notch bulletproof product will be available in China in 5 to 10 years.
In addition to making “high-end” bulletproof products, three-dimensional fibers also have many “down-to-earth” applications. For example, it can effectively improve the breathable layer of sports shoes, reduce the cost of breathable materials, and make sports shoes lighter and more durable; it can also solve the problem of traditional luggage materials being easy to crack.
Zhang Shangyong said: “Our advantage is talent. The UK urgently needs a large number of doctoral students here to assist in scientific research. And we also need the UK’s advanced textile material technology. This is a mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation.”
Why are bulletproof vests bulletproof
The bulletproof principle of bulletproof vests made of hard materials such as metal and ceramics is that the material will break and crack when struck by a bullet, thereby absorbing a large amount of impact energy from the projectile.
Body armor has developed to the third generation
If the bulletproof vest is made of high-performance fiber, the bulletproof principle is mainly that the bullet stretches and shears the fiber, and the fiber spreads the impact energy to areas other than the impact point, absorbs the energy, and wraps the fragments or warheads in the bulletproof layer. .
The first generation: Hard body armor
It mainly uses special steel, aluminum alloy and other metals as bulletproof materials, which first appeared in World War I.
Second generation: software body armor
In the early 1970s, body armor emerged with the successful development of the synthetic fiber “Kevlar”. It can generally protect against bullets fired from pistols 5 meters away without producing secondary shrapnel. However, it will deform after being hit by a bullet. Larger, difficult to withstand rifle bullets.
The third generation: composite body armor
It usually uses lightweight ceramic sheets as the outer layer and high-performance fiber fabrics such as “Kevlar” as the inner layer. It is the main development direction of body armor.
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