A new company, TorTech Nano Fibers, will begin producing fibers based on carbon nanotubes in Israel, which will be used to enhance the protective properties of body armor and make armor for military vehicles. This is actually one of the first examples of large-scale implementation of the latest promising technology and industrial production of nanomaterials, which are stronger than Kevlar and other ballistic fabrics, but at the same time flexible and lightweight. TorTech Nano Fibers is a joint venture between Plasan, an Israeli armor company, and the University of Cambridge's Q-Flo. Under the agreement, Plasan will have exclusive sales and marketing rights for the armor protection, while Q-Flo will retain rights for other potential uses of the new material.
"We believe carbon nanotubes will revolutionize the defense industry with new lightweight, flexible and incredibly strong armor materials," said Plasan CEO Dan Ziv. into the strongest materials."
The large-scale production of new, ultra-durable types of armor is in great demand in light of the protracted military conflicts, the growing list of threats and the increasing value of each soldier. Carbon nanotubes are one of the promising materials that can qualitatively improve armor protection. For example, in August this year, Lockheed Martin published a study according to which the addition of 1.5 - 5% carbon nanotubes to the armor material can improve bullet protection by 20 - 50%. The addition of carbon nanotubes to the polymer matrix and its subsequent weaving into the fibers of aramid fabrics makes the body armor bulletproof. Ballistic "nanotechnology" material may contain 40 to 70% aramid fibers and 60 to 30% resin (polymer matrix). The concentration by weight of nanotubes in the polymer matrix can range from 1.5 to 5%.
A typical version of reinforced armor: 60% - aramid Kevlar fibers, 40% - impregnation (for example, polyurethane), which contains a resin with 1.5% nanotubes. Nanotubes can also include silicon or boron compounds. The ratios can vary depending on the desired material properties and threat level.
