Testing of body armor materials, phase III / Committee on Testing of Body Armor Materials for Use by the U.S. Army-Phase III, Board on Army Science and Technology, Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences and Committee on National Statistics, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education, National Research Council of the National Academies.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on Testing Armor Materials for Use by the U.S. Army, issuing body.

National Research Council (U.S.). Board on Army Science and Technology, issuing body.

National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on National Statistics, issuing body.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Armor--United States--Testing.

Armor.

Personal protective equipment--United States--Testing.

Personal protective equipment.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (340 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Washington, District of Columbia : National Academies Press, [2012]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In 2009, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released the report Warfighter Support: Independent Expert Assessment of Army Body Armor Test Results and Procedures Needed Before Fielding, which commented on the conduct of the test procedures governing acceptance of body armor vest-plate inserts worn by military service members. This GAO report, as well as other observations, led the Department of Defense Director, Operational Test & Evaluation, to request that the National Research Council (NRC) Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences conduct a three-phase study to investigate issues related to the testing of body armor materials for use by the U.S. Army and other military departments. Phase I and II resulted in two NRC letter reports: one in 2009 and one in 2010. This report is Phase III in the study. Testing of Body Armor Materials: Phase III provides a roadmap to reduce the variability of clay processes and shows how to migrate from clay to future solutions, as well as considers the use of statistics to permit a more scientific determination of sample sizes to be used in body armor testing. This report also develops ideas for revising or replacing the Prather study methodology, as well as reviews comments on methodologies and technical approaches to military helmet testing. Testing of Body Armor Materials: Phase III also considers the possibility of combining various national body armor testing standards.

Contents:

Introduction

Overview of body armor

Historical basis for current body armor testing

Clay and backing materials

Instrumentation and procedures for measuring an indent in a clay backing material

Statistical considerations in body armor testing

Helmet testing

Medical basis for future body armor testing

Future improvements in testing methodology.

Appendices: Biographical sketches of committee members

Committee meetings

Additional phase III tasks

Report sections cross-referenced to the statement of task

Ballistic body armor insert composition and defeat mechanisms

Committee responses to the government accountability office report

Determining the necessary level of precision for body army testing

Statistical tolerance bounds

Analytical approaches for comparing test protocols

Contemporary methods for assessing behind-armor blunt trauma in live animals

Phase I findings

Phase II recommendations

Estimating the accuracy and precision of the digital caliper and faro laser.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

0-309-25600-3

OCLC:

923290050