Measuring the Acceleration of Bulletproof Vests: Testing and Biomedical Limits

Injuries resulting from a firearm striking a bulletproof vest may be due to penetrating or non-penetrating impacts. Typical injuries are of the penetrating type, meaning ballistic protection was not utilized or the projectile penetrated through the ballistic protection. However, even if the weapon does not penetrate the ballistic protection, blunt force trauma injuries may still occur. This paper is oriented towards developing a method of recording and determining the intensity of the impact, which can be used for the development of personal protection devices for individuals, such as prospective ballistic vests. Specifically, it concerns the implementation of a functional model for recording maximum kinematic values, such as acceleration. The purpose is to obtain values from the measurements for potential use in testing bulletproof vests and to estimate the effect of impacts on the wearer of the protective equipment. Thus, the intention of the paper is also to present biomedical requirements regarding the development of protective vests. The values obtained from the test measurements will serve as the starting point for further study and determining the suitability of using the developed ballistic body armor.