{"73673":{"#nid":"73673","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Better Body Armor Expected from Improved Process","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA Georgia Institute of Technology researcher has developed a process that increases the hardness and improves the ballistic performance of the material used by the U.S. military for body armor. The researcher\u0027s start-up company is commercializing the technology.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBoron carbide is the Defense Department\u0027s material of choice for body armor. It is the third hardest material on earth, yet it\u0027s extremely lightweight. But it has an Achilles heel that piqued the interest of Georgia Tech Professor of Materials Science and Engineering Robert Speyer five years ago.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EHe knew that the boron carbide powder used to form the armor had a reputation for poor performance during sintering -- a high-temperature process in which particles consolidate, without melting, to eliminate pores between them in the solid state. Poor sintering yields a more porous material that fractures more easily - not a good thing for a soldier depending on it to stop a bullet. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EDetermined to understand the sintering problem, Speyer built an instrument called a differential dilatometer to measure the expansion and contraction of materials during sintering heat treatments to temperatures as high as 4,300 degrees Fahrenheit.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022As a particle compact sinters, it shrinks 12 to 15 percent,\u0022 Speyer explained. \u0022There are nuances that occur in contraction, and if you monitor them accurately (with a dilatometer), it tells you what is happening at different stages in the sintering process. So we used that information in conjunction with additional materials characterization techniques to figure out the reasons why boron carbide didn\u0027t sinter well, and then found ways around them.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFrom these findings, Speyer and his research team have created a new boron carbide formation process based on methodical control of thermal and atmospheric conditions during sintering. The method yields higher relative densities - and thus better ballistic performance - than currently available boron carbide armor. (Relative density is a percentage that indicates how close a material is to its theoretical density, which implies having no pores.) \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe research has been reported in the \u003Cem\u003EJournal of Materials Research\u003C\/em\u003E.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe current commercial process, called hot pressing, squeezes boron carbide powders together between large dies, while heating to elevated temperatures. It yields armor materials with a 98.1 percent relative density.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESpeyer\u0027s pressureless sintering method yields a 98.4 percent relative density and hardness greater than hot pressing. But it can be done faster and at a lower cost than hot pressing.  For the most demanding applications, post-sintering hot isostatic pressing (HIP) is used. It increases the relative density of the part to 100 percent through the hydrostatic squeezing action of a high-temperature, high-pressure gas. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Our material made using HIP is remarkably harder than the current ceramic armor used in the Iraq and Afghanistan theaters,\u0022 Speyer said. \u0022Plus, because we\u0027re not using uni-axial hot pressing, we can make complicated, curved shapes for use in form-fitting body armor and other applications. Hot pressing allows for some curvature so long as the parts can stack together, but there\u0027s no chance of making parts like a single-piece helmet.\u0022  \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ETo make such products, Speyer has formed a company called Verco Materials under the advisory support of Georgia Tech\u0027s VentureLab, which helps faculty members commercialize their research. Ceramics expert Beth Judson is the company\u0027s general manager, and Jon Goldman is the VentureLab commercialization catalyst helping Verco get started. A Georgia Tech patent on Speyer\u0027s sintering process for boron carbide is pending, and when granted, Verco will have access to an exclusive license, Judson said.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe company has received two technology commercialization grants - totaling $100,000 -- from the Georgia Research Alliance to fabricate prototypes for potential military and industrial customers. The Georgia Tech Rapid Prototyping and Manufacturing Institute assisted with fabrication of model armor shapes. Also, VentureLab continues to analyze the company\u0027s potential markets.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBeyond body armor, potential military applications include aircraft\/rotorcraft protective components. Civilian markets include industries \u0022that can exploit the phenomenal abrasion resistance of theoretically dense boron carbide,\u0022 Speyer said.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EProducts manufactured by these industries include bearings, blast nozzles, cutting and mining tools, and pump and turbine shafts. The military market is growing rapidly with more than a half billion dollars worth of ceramic armor orders pending in this fiscal year, Goldman noted. That market is expected to double by 2009, according to a recent report in the publication \u003Cem\u003ECeramic Industry\u003C\/em\u003E. Bearings are a $27 million market with 5.7 percent annual growth expected through 2007.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMilitary applications - body armor, in particular - would be Verco\u0027s first target market, and its potential is promising, Speyer noted. The U.S. Army Soldier Systems Center in Natick, Mass., has conducted ballistic testing on a small boron carbide disk provided by Verco. Detailed results are classified, but the Army says they are encouraging. With a $75,000 grant from the center, Verco will produce 6- by 6-inch plates for more comprehensive military ballistic testing within the next few months.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EEarly next year, the Army Research Laboratory (ARL) at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland will be examining boron carbide materials (including complex shapes) they purchased from Verco. ARL is interested in Verco\u0027s potential ability to form complex shapes cost effectively.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMeanwhile, Verco expects to make thigh and shin plate prototypes in early 2006 for a Johnstown, Penn., company called Concurrent Technologies Corporation (CTC). The plates will be evaluated for use in CTC\u0027s Ballistic Gauntlet, a new lower-body armor product for use in military and commercial vehicles in war zones to protect against the pervasive threat of improvised explosive devices. It was the idea of CTC engineer Scott Burk, who recently served in the Persian Gulf for 21 months. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe company\u0027s current design calls for the Ballistic Gauntlet\u0027s thigh and shin plates to be made from titanium, but its cost has risen recently, and it\u0027s hard to form and heavier than boron carbide, Judson and Goldman said. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn one other effort, Verco and the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) are collaborating. GTRI has developed a composite armor \u0022blast bucket\u0022 for the ULTRA AP, a concept vehicle designed to illustrate potential technology options for improving survivability and mobility in future military combat vehicles. Verco and GTRI hope to modify the \u0022blast bucket\u0022 by replacing heavier ceramic spheres with lightweight boron carbide spheres in the composite structure to make it attractive for use in new helicopters, as well as in retrofitting current rotorcraft, Judson said.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIf Verco gets initial defense-related contracts from the customers it is courting, the company would need a tremendous productive capacity - enough to make thousands of parts a week, Judson and Goldman said. Plans call for a highly automated manufacturing facility in Georgia that would initially hire a significant number of engineering and manufacturing employees.  \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News \u0026amp; Publications Office\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n75 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 100\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nAtlanta, Georgia 30308 USA\u003C\/strong\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contact\u003C\/strong\u003E: John Toon (404-894-6986); E-mail: (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:john.toon@edi.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejohn.toon@edi.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E); Fax (404-894-4545).\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter\u003C\/strong\u003E: Jane Sanders\n\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"New material formation process improves ballistic performance of boron carbide material"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"A Georgia Tech researcher has developed a process that increases the hardness and improves the ballistic performance of the material used by the U.S. military for body armor. The researcher\u0027s start-up company is commercializing the technology.","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"New process improves body armor material"}],"uid":"27303","created_gmt":"2005-12-06 01:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:03:34","author":"John Toon","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2005-12-06T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2005-12-06T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"73674":{"id":"73674","type":"image","title":"Robert Speyer in lab","body":null,"created":"1449178012","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:26:52","changed":"1475894380","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:39:40"},"73675":{"id":"73675","type":"image","title":"Robert Speyer in lab","body":null,"created":"1449178012","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:26:52","changed":"1475894380","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:39:40"},"73676":{"id":"73676","type":"image","title":"Boron carbide helmet","body":null,"created":"1449178012","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:26:52","changed":"1475894380","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:39:40"}},"media_ids":["73674","73675","73676"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.venturelab.gatech.edu\/","title":"Georgia Tech VentureLab"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.mse.gatech.edu\/","title":"Georgia Tech School of Materials Science and Engineering"},{"url":"http:\/\/rpmi.marc.gatech.edu\/","title":"Rapid Prototyping and Manufacturing Institute"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.gra.org\/homepage.asp","title":"Georgia Research Alliance"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.gatech.edu\/news-room\/release.php?id=640","title":"Ultra AP Vehicle"}],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cstrong\u003EJohn Toon\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EResearch News \u0026amp; Publications Office\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.gatech.edu\/contact\/index.html?id=jt7\u0022\u003EContact John Toon\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404-894-6986\u003C\/strong\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jtoon@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}