Segmented Kevlar Undergarment for Blast Fragment Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional protective undergarments, such as plate-armour, are heavy and restrictive, compromising mobility and providing inadequate protection against blast injuries and fragmentation from improvised explosive devices (IEDs), while cycling shorts offer no trauma protection.
Innovation Solution
A multi-paneled protective undergarment integrating a ballistic-resistant Kevlar knit panel with a low thermal burden material, such as polyester mesh, for flexible and lightweight protection of the groin, crotch, buttocks, and upper thighs, ensuring protection against blast waves and ballistic fragments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional plate-armour is used for protection, then protection against ballistic fragments is improved, but weight increases and mobility is restricted
Solution Approach 1:
The protective undergarment is divided into multiple independent panels (front panel, rear panel, side panels) that can be separately positioned and adjusted. Each panel provides localized protection to specific body regions, allowing the wearer to maintain mobility while receiving adequate protection where needed, rather than wearing a single heavy plate armour covering the entire body.
Solution Approach 2:
Different panels are made from materials with varying levels of protection and flexibility according to the specific protection needs of each body region. The front panel uses thicker ballistic-resistant material for groin and crotch protection, while side and rear panels use lighter materials, creating a non-uniform protective structure that optimizes both protection and mobility.
2Reliability
If conventional plate-armour is used for protection, then protection against blast injuries is improved, but ease of movement is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The protective panels are designed to be flexible and movable rather than rigid, allowing the undergarment to move with the wearer's body during physical activities. The panels can be adjusted and repositioned as needed, providing dynamic protection that adapts to movement rather than restricting it, enabling the wearer to run, crouch, and move freely while maintaining protection against blast injuries and fragmentation.
3Reliability
If thick protective materials are used, then protection against fragmentation is improved, but thermal burden increases
Solution Approach 1:
Thicker, more protective materials are used only in specific high-risk areas such as the front panel covering the groin and crotch region, while lighter, thinner materials are used in less critical areas like the rear and side panels. This localized approach provides adequate fragmentation protection where needed without subjecting the entire undergarment to high thermal burden, allowing for better heat dissipation overall.
Solution Approach 2:
The undergarment combines different material types in a composite structure, using ballistic-resistant fabrics and flexible materials with varying thermal properties in different panels. This composite construction allows optimization of both protective performance and thermal management, as each material layer contributes its specific properties to the overall garment performance.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The undergarment provides effective anti-ballistic protection, maintaining mobility and reducing thermal burden, while safeguarding vital arteries and organs with a lightweight design that prevents skin irritation and allows for sweat dissipation.
Implementation Method 1
A multi-paneled protective undergarment integrating a ballistic-resistant Kevlar knit panel with a low thermal burden material
Implementation Method 2
a low thermal burden material, such as polyester mesh
Implementation Method 3
allows for sweat dissipation
Data Source
AI summary
A protective undergarment (10), shown in the form of shorts, includes integrally formed protective panels (22, 26, 30) that exhibit slash-proof properties. The protective areas (22, 26, 30) are made from a flexible Kevlar® knit or the like, and extend to cover the groin, crotch, substantial areas of the buttocks and the inner thigh regions of both legs. The protective panels (22, 26, 30) are externally snitched to a low thermal burden material (18, 20), such as a polyester mesh, that provides elasticity and completes the structure of the shorts (10). The Kevlar® knit is flexible and preferably lies directly against the skin of a user to provide blast wave and ballistic fragment deflection while permitting mobility in a lightweight arrangement. Varying thickness of the Kevlar® knit can be used in the protective areas (22, 26, 30) selectively to enhance protection against blast wave and fragment penetration. The shorts (10) find particular application in battlefield theatres where military personnel are exposed to bomb threats.