Saving Lives with Kevlar

New Arm-armour

2005-11-08T23:49:00.000-05:00

Although the use of Kevlar armored vests have effectively reduced the deaths of many American soldiers, those that survive still suffer from irreversible damage to their arms from severe burns and shrapnel penetration. The Sandia Gauntlet could "prove to be the solution to the problem". Researchers at the National Nuclear Security Administration's Sandia National Laboratories have created gauntlets that will help prevent injury to the arms of military personnel riding atop military vehicles in battle. The shoulder-length gauntlets are made with layers of heavy Kevlar with carbon-composite forearm and upper arm protective inserts. The heat protection characteristics Kevlar layers dull the thermal effects of warhead blasts while the carbon composite and Kevlar combination diminish blunt trauma effects and penetration and shredding effects of warhead shrapnel.

New Hockey Sticks Engineered with Kevlar

2005-11-08T23:39:00.000-05:00

The Fusion and Evolution, new hockey sticks, were unveiled at the Let’s Play Hockey International Expo held in Las Vegas. Both advance hockey stick technology by utilizing the lightweight strength, abrasion resistance and impact absorption characteristics of DuPont™ KEVLAR® to boost on-ice performance and exhilaration to new heights.

“Branches® Hockey’s (Branches® Hockey Introduces Revolutionary New Hockey Sticks Engineered with DuPont™ KEVLAR® )Fusion and Evolution product lines are examples of our newest generation of sticks, shafts and replacement blades that are lightweight, strong and tough to boost performance and exhilaration for hockey players at all skill levels,” said Dale Kicker, founder and president of Branches® Hockey.

For the Fusion, Kick-Coil™ shaft designed with KEVLAR® performance technology is attached for a super quick release and very good accuracy. Independent tests measure the shot release speed at 158 feet per second or 108 miles per hour. The new lightweight carbon and nylon composite blade is virtually indestructible and has superior strength to weight ratio. For Evolution, it combines a wood shaft with KEVLAR® for greater shaft torque control to increase shot speed and accuracy. In the technologically advanced blade wrap, KEVLAR®, fiberglass and carbon are mingled for lightweight strength, faster shot speed, stiffness and accuracy.
It is very important to have a light weighted shaft with accuracy and long-lasting in Hockey along with many other various sports because strong shaft and light weighted shaft are difficult to make. However, with the KEVLAR®, the both important factors were able to meet.

Kevlar in Footwear and Fusion Skateboards™

2005-11-08T23:08:00.000-05:00

The DuPont™ KEVLAR® “Power of Performance” licensing program continues to receive keen interest from sporting goods manufacturers interested in the high-performance attributes of KEVLAR® performance technology. The original set of partners is quickly expanding to include additional key sports brands such as EVOS™ footwear(Footwear and Fusion Skateboards) and Fusion Skateboards™. EVOS™ footwear gained a partnership with DuPont to feature the skateboard shoes that stand up to the rough treatment for both amateur and professionals.

“As a ‘Power of Performance’ partner, our customers are able to enjoy the many benefits of KEVLAR® performance technology: lightweight strength, superior cut and abrasion resistance, and durability to maximize performance,” says LaHaye, vice-president of EVOS™ footwear.

Furthermore, the skateboard shoes with KEVLAR® performance technology hold up for a month on the pro circuit as compared to those without KEVLAR® that are “shot after a few days” because of abrasive grip tape on the skateboard decks. Also, the KEVLAR® and EVOS™ footwear combined with Flyer’s traditional wood deck which results high breaking strength and improved longevity. KEVLAR® is almost getting their hands on most outdoor equipments which requires stronger and more durable for the users.

Velodyne's MiniVee Subwoofer

2005-11-08T22:48:00.000-05:00

Veoldyne Acoustics, Inc., recently intoducedits new product, the MiniVee subwoofer, "a product designed for price conscious consumers who still want loud, deep bass performance out of a small cabinet". Through an 8 inch Kevlar-enforced cone driven by a a 21.7 pound magnet structure, the MiniVee delivers a deep, powerful, low-distortion bass It includes a 2.5 inch, four-layer copper wound voice coil, oversized spider and vented pole piece. The MiniVee is finished in a black matte vinyl. The subwoofer in just overten inches high, making it easy to hide or integrate into any room. According to Bruce Hall, Velodyne president, the MiniVee is "small, but only in size, not it power or performance". It has all the latest amplifier and driver technology that Velodyne is famous for. With a suggested retail price of $999, the MiniVee produces deeper, louder bass with lower distortion for music and movies through its long, linear excursion capabilities.

Bulletproof Vest Program Fix May Cost Taxpayers $93M

2005-11-08T18:08:00.001-05:00

1998, President Clinton signed a bill that created a federal program to help law enforcement agencies purchase bulletproof vests. Funded with $50 million during its peak, the money paid up to half the cost of buying body armor for police officers. The program worked as federal lawmakers had hoped, helping officers purchase about one million vest. However, about 200,000 of those vests were defective. The defective vests were made with Zylon, a material which is lighter than Kevlar but loses its strength over long-term exposure to light humidity. The Bush administration launched its study of the Zylon vests after an officer was wounded because his Zylon vest was penetrated by a .40-caliber round, a bullet the vest should have stopped. The Justice Department puiblished a report on the Zylon vest stating that it did not meet ballistic standards; 60 out 103 Zylon vests "were pentrated by at least one round during a six-shot test series" while only four met "all performance criteria" in Justice Department testing. The governement is providing $33.6 million to immediately replace the defective vests. An additional $60 million is being proposed to be added to the Senate budget bill.

Carbon/Kevlar Neck Brace

2005-11-04T12:41:00.000-05:00

Leatt Corporation has teamed up with BMW and KTM in order to develop a composite cervical spine protection system for sports motorcyclists. Leatt Corporation manufactures the Leatt-Brace, a neck brace system designed to help prevent motor sport injuries to the neck. So far the prototypes are being made from a combination of Kevlar and carbon fibers and have been tested at BMW’s testing facility in Munich, Germany. Ideally, the neck brace will not only aid rally bikers and professional motorcyclists, but if successful they will be introduced into everyday traffic situations. Both companies are excited at the great safety potential that the brace will provide, and hope that eventually it can be used by anyone wearing a crash helmet as a form of protection.

Enhanced Bullet-Proof Vest

2005-11-04T09:05:00.000-05:00

Two entrepreneurs in Singapore have developed a liquid ceramic that strengthens bullet-proof vests. The two men, Richard Lim and Norman Lim claim that their formula may be more effective than a top defence laboratory in the United States. The final product weighs only one-third of the armour used in the US military's Army Research. While a vest made of 10 paper-thin layers of Kelvar stops a 9mm bullet in the ninth layer, the same type of vest treated with their ceramic mixture stops the bullet at the fourth layer.

Kevlar Stratellites to be Used for Wireless Internet Connections

2005-11-03T11:11:00.000-05:00

Sanswire Technologies have entered into a joint venture with Telesphere Communication to lauch high altitudes airships call Stratellites. Stratellites are alike satellites in a way that Stratellites will be located in the stratosphere, as opposed to satellites which orbit the earth. However, Stratellites have the advantages over satellites in that they provide easy communication in both directions while satellites provide a download of information only. Sanswire intend to use the Stratellites for high speed wireless internet conncetions which they will be able to offer the U.S. and parts of Canada and Mexico. The airships will be manufactured by 21st Century Airships and will feature a Kevlar construction. With manufactured by Kevlar, it will have a diameter of 200 hundred feet and will be capable of carrying thousands of pounds. The use of Stratellites is cheaper and require less work compared to satellites. Furthermore, Stratellites do not require lauch equipment such as space shuttles.

Bomb Resistant Cables Coming to a Bridge Near You

2005-10-28T10:49:00.000-04:00

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority plans to reinforce and encase the Verrazano Bridge’s suspension cables with a mixture of Kevlar and ceramics in order to offer a high degree of protection against an explosive blast. This mixture is not only bomb-resistant, but it is also lighter than steel. Some sources, including the Daily News, have suggested that the MTA may expand cable reinforcements onto other of New York City’s bridges including the Triborough, Throes Neck, and Whitestone. The contract on the reinforcement project is still up for grabs although other unspecified protection measures on NYC bridges have been contracted to the Army Corps. of Engineers. The Verrazano Bridge is located on Upper New York Bay, connects Brooklyn to Staten Island, and has about 200,000 vehicles crossing it daily.

SNARK

2005-10-28T05:10:00.000-04:00

Snark is the the newest in the line of Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles. The Snark is built by TGR Helicorp, a New Zealand-based commercial helicopter manufacturer. The new product offers more capabilities than any other current VTOL UAV and is likely to make new Zealand a fierce competitor in the armaments industry.The helicopter is constructed of mostly carbon fiber and Kevlar, making it light and fast. It is quiet and virtually invisible to radar or infared detection. It has massive firepower and surveillance capabilities. The SNARK is also the first UAV to run on diesal fuel, making it easy to integrate into any military force. It can also stay in flight for 24 hours, surpassing any other model with similar capabilities.

Kevlar and Velociraptor

2005-10-21T12:07:00.000-04:00

Scientists have long believed that Velociraptors used their curved appendages to disembowel their prey. However, a robotic reconstuction of the claw proved otherwise. Using Kevlar, steel, aluminium, and carbon fiber, scientists made a robotic limb witha hydraulic system which controled movement and mimicked the kick that a 20-kilogram Velociraptor might have produced. The impact on pig carcasses at both low and high speed produced small, round puncture wounds that would not have posed a danger to an herbivore's vital organ. When used on crocodile skin, the most similar to dinosaur skin, the claw broke. Scientists came to the conclusion that the claw was used to hook the dinosaur to their prey."

Kevlar-made Dino Claws

2005-10-21T11:33:00.000-04:00

Remember Jurassic Park where velociraptors terrorized every living thing in sight, tearing any living thing apart with their claws? Well this dramatization has been proven scientifically incorrect with the help of robotic reconstructions. Robotic limbs made of mixture of steel, aluminum, carbon fiber, and Kevlar have shown that velociraptors actually used their claws as tools for clinging on to the flesh of their prey, not necessarily as a weapon to cut. Experiments conducted by Phillip Manning, from the University of Manchester, demonstrated how the claw was only capable of piercing, and not tearing, crocodile hide, which is the most similar to dinosaur skin. From these experiments paleontologists have gathered that the velociraptor used different tactics when engaging its prey, mainly pouncing on the back of its victim, gripping it with its curved claws and ripping into the animal's throat with its sharp teeth. However this tiny detail can be overlooked on account that many other scientifically incorrect things happened throughout the film.

Kevlar used in Home Protection

2005-10-20T11:35:00.000-04:00

As tornado hits certain region, its circulation begins to pick up and throw out all kinds of debris. Any remains from a destroyed building to a car, accelerated at more than 100 miles per hour, is one of the most dangerous threats that a tornado contains. The DuPont StormRoom with Kevlar® provided a shelter that can help to stop and deflect wind-borne debris. In a series of tested performed in an independent lab, the shelter made of Kevlar was able to deflect a 12-foot, 15-pound two by four piece of wood shot out of a cannon at 100 miles per hour. It represents the speed at which a 250-miles-per-hour wind would prople the timber. The DuPont StormRoom looks like a small room inside a house or garage. Furthermore the room is ventilated with electricity, and plumbing can be installed. Faidley, a journalist, said that over 1,000 tornadoes are officially recorded in the United States. The ‘StormRoom’ will definitely help to save many lives from the natural disasters.

No More Falls - Kevlar Ropes

2005-10-14T14:10:00.000-04:00

On October 4, 2005, New York Coty firefighters received 50-foot ropes composed of Kevlar, which apart from being bulletproof can resist melting in intense heat for two minutes and 20 seconds. The Fire Department stopped issuing individual ropes to firefighters in 2000 because of their inefficiency and heaviness. The ropes were designed by firefighters frustrated with the escape mechanisms out in the market. Ropes previously used by the FDNY have been the subject of debate ever since two firefighters died from jumping out a fourth floor window in the Bronx back in January due to faulty ropes. The new Kevlar ropes will allow firefighters to escape from a window in ten seconds. New York City is spending approximately eleven million dollars to purchase, distribute and train the firefighters.
Firefighting is one of the riskiest professions, and any amount of security that can be provided is of great help. The FDNY has made a good investment because Kevlar has proved a reliable product time and time again.

Security for Portable Computers

2005-10-13T23:27:00.000-04:00

Portable computers are easy targets for thieves because they are easy to transport. The new UltraMax notebook cable lock from Targus Austrilia is designed to make portable computers, and maybe desktops, less prone to theft. The lock is made with Kevlar fibre coated cable with a lock slot on the end. It can be fitted to any notebook or other devive, while allowing full operation when attached to the nearest immovable object. It eliminates the need for keys with ten thousand user-settable combinations for its tamper-resistant lock. According to Targus the 2.8mm thick cable is the toughest and strongest security cable lock available, with a pull of over one thousand kilograms.

Kevlar in Performance Gloves

2005-10-10T18:24:00.000-04:00

Olympia Sports, which has made performance gloves for sports maniacs for over sixty decades, introduced new motorcycle sports gloves. Olympia Sports, also an expert about manufacturing gloves for motorcycling, skiing and snowmobiling, presented the strong and long lasting gloves with DuPont™ KEVLAR® performance technology. For a new generation of demanding sports maniacs, this feature was offered with lightweight strength, and its durability. This glove is mid-weight, soft leather gloves, and it was featured at International Powersports Dealer Expo. The palm of the glove featured with a layer of Kevlar fiber sandwiched between two layers of premium leather. The back of the glove was featured with Kevlar for its superior hand protection. With Kevlar being a very strong component, this glove will outlast other ordinary gloves. In my opinion, this product will greatly reduce the unnecessary concerns such as weather from outdoor events. This will allow the sports enthusiasts to concentrate and enjoy with their activity.

“The addition of DuPont™ KEVLAR® has enabled us to offer strong, lightweight motorcycle gloves that will outperform leather-only gloves,” says Roger Heumann, president of Olympia Sports, of Elmsford, New York.

Kevlar- Now Knife and Bullet-Safe

2005-10-06T23:17:00.000-04:00

DuPont has introduced a new, flexible armor system using Kevlar® MTP™ (multiple threat protection) technology that protects against knife and bullet attacks. This technology comes at a time where attacks against law enforcement have increased over the years. Apart from meeting the safety needs of law enforcement, Kevlar® MTP™ technology is much lighter, concealable, flexible, comfortable, and suitable for everyday wear. Therefore it can be used in a wide array of law enforcement fields ranging from airport security to domestic disputes. Before Kevlar® MTP™ technology vests were not equipped with the material required to prevent puncture wounds. Now, Kevlar® MTP™ technology has become a standard in many districts.
This innovation will greatly reduce the deaths that occur unnecessarily in the law enforcement field. I think that Kevlar® MTP™ technology should become the internationals standard in all districts. However, due to factors such as inadequate funding’ I think it is impossible for every cop or security personnel to be equipped with these.

Kevlar Used in BIKE

2005-10-06T22:38:00.000-04:00

“A bicycle tire that is virtually flat-free is attractive to everyone who rides a bicycle, whether for work or play". - Mike Sinyard (Founder and Chairman of "Specialized")
As "Kevlar" was originally made for racing cars' tires, it reached its property to the bicycle market and outdoor sports. DuPont, the intial researching company for Kevlar® (which rivals the strength of steel while being lighte), had run the demonstration about new leisure for outdoor market. The strength of Kevlar® , which was proven by its effeciency in bulletproof vests, will be also used to prevent flat tires of bicycles. With its high strength, light weight and comforted protection, Armadillo® tires - tires made with Kevlar® technology - are virutally falt-free, making it a good choice for many outdoor maniacs to purchase.
“Specailized is a compnay of devout cyclists obsessed with creating cutting-edge, functional and technically advanced products that provide performance benefits to cyclists, from recreation riders to world-class racers.” (outdoor and mountain bike media day...)
The product of the combination between Kevlar® and Armadillo® will lead the growing outdoor market. This creation using Kevlar’s lightweight strength will help a lot of outdoor sports enthusiasts.

"Saving Lives with Kevlar"

2005-10-06T22:18:00.000-04:00

In the 1930s, DuPont’s Wallace Carothers invented nylon and polyester. The company did not “rest on the laurels of nylon”, but wished to improve it. The Kevlar Survivors' Club mentioned by Dr. Joe Schwartz in “Saving Lives with Kevlar" (an article in The Fly in the Ointment) is proof of that improvement.Its members consist of police officers who were saved by their bulletproof vests made up of DuPont's product, Kevlar.
In the early 1960s, the DuPont chemical company was looking for some material that would “rival the strength of steel while being lighter”, and would be able to “stand up to high temperatures.” They wanted to find an alternative to the steel-belted tires used on racecars during the time. Polymer chemist Stephanie Kwolek was the researcher in charge.
Kwolek decided to try using “polyaramids”. Because the substance is difficult to melt, the fibers could not be formed as they generally are – by passing molten polymers through a spinneret. However, Kwolek was able to solve the problem by dissolving her polymer in a solvent, then forcing it through the spinneret. “Serendipitously,” Kwolek was able to make a liquid-crystal solution, in which the polymer molecules were structured and arranged very tightly when the solvent evaporated during spinning. After hundreds of millions of dollars and a decade and a half later, DuPont produced a “viable commercial product”, Kevlar. It is five times stronger than steel on a weight-per-weight basis, flame-proof, and light. Although its "elastic characteristics" were not ideal for racecar tires, Kelvar threads are woven together to make the present-day bulletproof vest.