Beyond Kevlar fiber! A new type of "super fiber" suitable for body armor, taking into account bulletproof + heat insulation!

Scientists at Harvard University have developed a new type of "super fiber", which is not only as impact-resistant as Kevlar fiber, but also resistant to extreme high and low temperatures, and its barrier performance is 20 times that of its alternatives.
People have had a deeper understanding of the nature of Kevlar, especially in the application of protective equipment such as bulletproof vests. But for firefighting, military, and aerospace practitioners, the new materials developed by Harvard take into account the excellent temperature insulation effect.
It is reported that in order to create this new material with impact resistance comparable to Kevlar but with super heat insulation properties, the research team has developed a new long, strong and porous nanofiber to improve heat dissipation performance and reduce diffusion.
Traditional fiber
Kevlar and Twaron are famous tough materials whose protective properties come from their molecular structure. For mechanical strikes, such as bulletproof vests, the material exhibits a highly ordered structure, allowing it to redistribute force.
Senior author Kit Parker said in a statement that during the war in Afghanistan, he witnessed how body armor saves lives and was aware of the limitations imposed by heavy body armor on soldiers' mobility. Soldiers on the battlefield need to constantly move, shoot, and communicate. If one of them is restricted, it will reduce the survivability of the soldiers and even lead to mission failure.
New "Super Fiber"
Normally, due to the basic properties of materials, it has been difficult to design equipment to protect limbs from extreme temperatures and the lethal projectiles that accompany explosions. Materials strong enough to withstand ballistic threats cannot withstand extreme temperatures, and vice versa. Most of today's protective equipment is composed of multiple layers of different materials, resulting in heavy and heavy equipment. If worn on the arms and legs, it will severely limit the soldier's ability to move.
Therefore, the team combined the two types of materials into one.
The insulation material has a more porous structure, which can minimize the amount of heat passing through. The team synthesized a para-aramid fiberboard by using an immersed rotating jet spinning platform (iRJS). It aligns the para-aramid fibers along the direction of the mechanical load of the aerogel. Oriented para-aramid fibers can effectively cope with mechanical stress, while the porous network structure can limit thermal diffusion without compromising structural functions.
▲Working diagram
▲Insulation demonstration
Fragmentation tests show that the ballistic performance of this non-woven pAFS is comparable to commercial ballistic textiles. In addition, the thermal conductivity of pAFS is very low. Compared with the commercially available para-aramid, its thermal insulation performance is increased by 20 times.
The first research work Grant M. Gonzalez explained: Through this improvement, we have broken the boundaries of possible and moved towards a new direction of new multifunctional materials.
Looking to the future, the new "super materials" are expected to provide individuals including firefighters, soldiers, and astronauts with better protection solutions in extreme environments.