Title: Laser sintered body armour: establishing guidelines for dual-layered stab protection

Authors: A.A. Johnson; G.A. Bingham; C.E. Majewski

Addresses: Loughborough Design School, Loughborough University, Leicestershire, LE11 3TU, UK ' Loughborough Design School, Loughborough University, Leicestershire, LE11 3TU, UK ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK

Abstract: Additive Manufacturing technologies are increasingly being utilised in a range of custom and high performance applications. Initial research has demonstrated the successful use of Laser Sintering for achieving stab protection to UK body armour standards. However, further development is required to establish a comprehensive set of stab resistant design characteristics which could be used for the generation of a bespoke AM body armour garment. This body of work is a precursor to such developments, instead establishing the foundations as to whether dual layered Laser sintered planar structures can be used to minimise body armour thickness requirements, whilst maintaining successful stab protection to internationally recognised standards.

Keywords: additive manufacturing; body armour; laser sintering; stab resistance; Home Office Scientific Development Branch; UK; United Kingdom; stab resistant design; dual layered planar structures; armour thickness.

DOI: 10.1504/IJRAPIDM.2015.073545

International Journal of Rapid Manufacturing, 2015 Vol.5 No.1, pp.3 - 19

Received: 28 Aug 2015
Accepted: 09 Oct 2015

Published online: 11 Dec 2015 *

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