Armor having a ballistic composite wrap slip layer and a laminate containment wrap

Abstract

This invention relates to the use of an open, plain Leno Aramid fiber weave wrapped around the armor base plate in such a fashion that the wrap on the strike face surface is bonded with a thermoset resin while the continuous fibers around the back are left resin-free and able to distort, allowing localized deformation while keeping the remainder of the 'wrap' holding tight. This wrap technique keeps the composite backing tight to the strike surface while allowing all of the benefits of localized fiber movement and tensile failure on the backside of the target. Other high performance fibers, such as fiberglass, also woven in a Leno weave and applied in the same method will yield similar results. This invention also relates to the placement of a 'slip layer' between the fiber surface and the polymer coating of an armor system. This layer, consists of Teflon, silicone, or other low friction, bonding resistant materials, and prevents intimate bonding of the polymer coating to the fiber back and allows a low friction slip surface that isolates the polymer from the trauma of fiber deformation and breakage.