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Testing of Body Armor Materials Phase III THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Testing of Body Armor Materials: Phase III 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 Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Testing of Body Armor Materials: Phase III THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. SES- 0453930, Amendment #012. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. International Standard Book Number ISBN-13: 978-309-25599-8 International Standard Book Number ISBN-10: 0-309-25599-6 Limited copies of this report are available from: Additional copies are available from: Board on Army Science and Technology The National Academies Press National Research Council 500 Fifth Street, NW 500 Fifth Street, NW, Room 940 Keck 360 Washington, DC 20001 Washington, DC 20001 (202) 334-3118 (800) 624-6242 or (202) 334-3313 http://www.nap.edu Copyright 2012 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. 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Testing of Body Armor Materials: Phase III v COMMITTEE ON THE TESTING OF BODY ARMOR FOR THE U.S. ARMY – PHASE III LARRY G. LEHOWICZ, MG, U.S. Army (ret), Chair, Quantum Research International, Arlington, Virginia CAMERON R. BASS, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina THOMAS F. BUDINGER, NAE/IOM 1 , E.O. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California MORTON M. DENN, NAE. City College of the City University of New York WILLIAM G. FAHRENHOLTZ, Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla RONALD D. FRICKER, JR., Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California YOGENDRA M. GUPTA, Washington State University, Pullman DENNIS K. KILLINGER, University of South Florida, Tampa VLADIMIR B. MARKOV, Advanced Systems and Technologies, Inc., Irvine, California JAMES D. McGUFFIN-CAWLEY, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio RUSSELL N. PRATHER, Survice Engineering Company, Bel Air, Maryland SHELDON WIEDERHORN, NAE, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland ALYSON GABBARD WILSON, Institute for Defense Analyses, Alexandria, Virginia Staff BRUCE A. BRAUN, Director, Board on Army Science and Technology ROBERT LOVE, Study Director HARRISON T. PANNELLA, Senior Program Officer NIA D. JOHNSON, Senior Research Associate, Board on Army Science and Technology JAMES MYSKA, Senior Research Associate, Board on Army Science and Technology DEANNA P. SPARGER, Program Administrative Coordinator, Board on Army Science and Technology ANN LARROW, Research Assistant JOSEPH PALMER, Senior Program Assistant ALICE WILLIAMS, Senior Program Assistant (until September 10, 2010) CONSTANCE CITRO, Director, Committee on National Statistics DENNIS CHAMOT, Acting Director, National Materials Advisory Board JAMES P. McGEE, Director, Army Research Laboratory Technical Assessment Board 1 NAE/IOM, National Academy of Engineering/Institute of Medicine Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Testing of Body Armor Materials: Phase III vi BOARD ON ARMY SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ALAN H. EPSTEIN, Chair, Pratt & Whitney, East Hartford, Connecticut DAVID M. MADDOX, Vice Chair, Independent Consultant, Arlington, Virginia DUANE ADAMS, Independent Consultant, Carnegie Mellon University (retired), Arlington, Virginia ILESANMI ADESIDA, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign EDWARD C. BRADY, Strategic Perspectives, Inc., Fort Lauderdale, Florida MARY E. BOYCE, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge W. PETER CHERRY, Independent Consultant, Ann Arbor, Michigan EARL H. DOWELL, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina JULIA D. ERDLEY, Pennsylvania State University, State College LESTER A. FOSTER, Electronic Warfare Associates, Herndon, Virginia JAMES A. FREEBERSYSER, BBN Technology, St. Louis Park, Minnesota RONALD P. FUCHS, Independent Consultant, Seattle, Washington W. HARVEY GRAY, Independent Consultant, Oak Ridge, Tennessee JOHN J. HAMMOND, Lockheed Martin Corporation (retired), Fairfax, Virginia RANDALL W. HILL, JR., University of Southern California Institute for Creative Technologies, Playa Vista JOHN W. HUTCHINSON, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts MARY JANE IRWIN, Pennsylvania State University, University Park ROBIN L. KEESEE, Independent Consultant, Fairfax, Virginia ELLIOT D. KIEFF, Channing Laboratory, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts WILLIAM L. MELVIN, Georgia Tech Research Institute, Smyrna ROBIN MURPHY, Texas A&M University, College Station SCOTT PARAZYNSKI, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas RICHARD R. PAUL, Independent Consultant, Bellevue, Washington JEAN D. REED, Independent Consultant, Arlington, Virginia LEON E. SALOMON, Independent Consultant, Gulfport, Florida JONATHAN M. SMITH, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia MARK J.T. SMITH, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana MICHAEL A. STROSCIO, University of Illinois, Chicago DAVID A. TIRRELL, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena JOSEPH YAKOVAC, President, JVM LLC, Hampton, Virginia Staff BRUCE A. BRAUN, Director CHRIS JONES, Financial Manager DEANNA P. SPARGER, Program Administrative Coordinator Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Testing of Body Armor Materials: Phase III vii Preface This report is the final volume of a three-phase study commissioned by the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E) of the Department of Defense (DoD) to assist in addressing shortcomings that had been reported by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the DoD Inspector General in DoD’s body armor testing process. Independent committees were empanelled for the three study phases. Each committee produced an independent report, although this final Phase III report builds on the results of the letter reports delivered in Phases I and II, both of which provided findings and recommendations on key issues that required near-term resolution by DOT&E. The study was conducted under the auspices of the National Research Council (NRC) Board on Army Science and Technology (BAST) and Committee on National Statistics. The Phase I letter report, released in January 2010, addressed the adequacy of laser instrumentation for evaluating ballistics tests in clay material. The Phase II report, released in May 2010, focused on the behavior of ballistics clay used as a recording medium during live-fire testing. The Phase III committee had more time for meetings and data gathering than the two previous committees and was able to use the substantial amount of data collected throughout the entire study. As a result the committee was able to delve more deeply into all available data than had been possible in the earlier phases of the effort. This Phase III report provides a wide range of recommendations designed to help enable the entire body armor community utilize an effective testing process leading to fielding the best equipment possible that meets performance specifications while reducing the weight burden placed on soldiers in training or combat. The Phase III committee deserves special thanks for its hard work. Several committee members went well beyond the norm in interviewing numerous experts, assessing the pertinent issues, and developing recommendations to address the many demands of the committee’s statement of task. In particular, committee member Thomas Budinger deserves special credit for leading the Phase III ad hoc instrumentation committee subgroup that produced a thoughtful review of the data and information related to instrumentation. The committee is also grateful to the many DoD, Army, Marine Corps, industry, and contractor personnel engaged in body armor testing for the useful information they provided. Finally, the committee also greatly appreciates the support and assistance of the NRC staff members who assisted the committee in its fact-finding activities Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Testing of Body Armor Materials: Phase III viii and in the production of the three separate committee reports. In particular, thanks are due to the BAST staff, principally Bruce Braun, Margaret Novack and Robert Love, who ably facilitated the committee’s work. Larry Lehowicz, Chair Committee on Testing of Body Armor Materials for Use by the U.S. Army Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Testing of Body Armor Materials: Phase III ix Acknowledgments This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the National Research Council Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their review of this report: Morris E. Fine (NAE), Northwestern University John S. Foster, Jr. (NAE), GKN Aerospace Transparency Systems David Higdon, Los Alamos National Laboratory Peter Matic, Naval Research Laboratory Erik Novak, Veeco Instruments, Henry Smith, (NAE), Massachusetts Institute of Technology Leslie J. Struble, University of Illinois Stephen F. Vatner, New Jersey Medical School Emmanuel Yashchin, IBM Watson Research Center Laurence R. Young (NAE/IOM), Massachusetts Institute of Technology Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations, nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Lawrence D. Brown, NAS, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and Arthur H. Heuer, NAE, Case Western Reserve University. Appointed by the National Research Council, they were responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the institution. [...]... national body armor testing standards The preponderance of body armor testing is conducted by the U.S Army Aberdeen Test Center (ATC) in support of the body armor acquisition authority, which is the U.S Army Program Executive Office Soldier (PEO Soldier) In developing its report, the Phase III Committee on Testing of Body Armor Materials for Use by the U.S Army (the Phase III committee) built on the work of. . .Testing of Body Armor Materials: Phase III x Copyright © National Academy of Sciences All rights reserved Testing of Body Armor Materials: Phase III Contents SUMMARY 1 1 INTRODUCTION Background, 20 Study Tasks, 20 Study Context, 22 Study Implementation, 22 Report Organization, 23 References, 24 20 2 OVERVIEW OF BODY ARMOR Background, 25 Ceramic Plates in Body Armor, 26 Fiber and... rights reserved Testing of Body Armor Materials: Phase III xx Copyright © National Academy of Sciences All rights reserved Testing of Body Armor Materials: Phase III Acronyms and Abbreviations AIS AP AQL ARDS ARL ASTM ATC ATD ATM abbreviated injury scale armor piercing acceptance quality level adult respiratory distress syndrome U.S Army Research Laboratory A merican Society of Testing and Materials U.S... level S-4 of ANSI/ASQ Z1.4-2008 (American Society for Quality, 2008) 11 Copyright © National Academy of Sciences All rights reserved Testing of Body Armor Materials: Phase III TESTING OF BODY ARMOR MATERIALS - PHASE III Recommendation 6-3: The Office of the Director, Operational Test and Evaluation, and the Army should continue to consult and engage statisticians throughout the process of assessing... study team will have access to all data with respect to body armor testing that the team needs for the conduct of the study 2 Copyright © National Academy of Sciences All rights reserved Testing of Body Armor Materials: Phase III The last task for Phase III of the study was to document in its final report any other issues regarding body armor testing that the committee found relevant In response, this... Academy of Sciences All rights reserved Testing of Body Armor Materials: Phase III TESTING OF BODY ARMOR MATERIALS - PHASE III Recommendation 7-1: The Army should perform research to define the link between human injury and the testing methodology for head behind -armor blunt trauma Recommendation 7-2: The Aberdeen Test Center should ensure the following: 1 Dynamic mechanical strain/deformation response of. .. of future test measurement requirements, the Office of the Director, Operational Test and Evaluation, and/or the Army should charter an organization such as the National Institute of Standards and Technology to conduct an analysis of available candidate commercial instruments 9 Copyright © National Academy of Sciences All rights reserved Testing of Body Armor Materials: Phase III TESTING OF BODY ARMOR. .. and often greater than, the confidence level specified in the standard The actual confidence level varies substantially as a function of the probability of no penetration [Pr(nP)] of the plates, and it can be quite different for small changes For most lot sizes, and over 10 Copyright © National Academy of Sciences All rights reserved Testing of Body Armor Materials: Phase III TESTING OF BODY ARMOR MATERIALS. .. 26 Survivability vs Mobility, 27 Medical Study Basis for Testing Body Armor, 27 Body Armor Testing Process, 28 Body Armor Testing Range, 31 Government Accountability Office Report, 32 References, 33 25 3 HISTORICAL BASIS FOR CURRENT BODY ARMOR TESTING Background, 34 Evolution of Clay Usage, 38 High-Energy Threats, 41 Rifle Threats for Hard Body Armors, 42 Work Performed after the Prather Study, 42 Current... Copyright © National Academy of Sciences All rights reserved Testing of Body Armor Materials: Phase III 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 . Testing of Body Armor Materials Phase III THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Testing of Body Armor Materials: Phase III Testing. Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Testing of Body Armor Materials: Phase III Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Testing of Body Armor Materials: Phase III v. Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Testing of Body Armor Materials: Phase III x Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Testing of Body Armor Materials: Phase III xi