ABSTRACT
Manufacturers and especially the users of ballistic protection systems need an
adequate answer to the question whether the chosen protection is effective against
specific threats. Such evaluation is difficult enough, mainly because ballistic systems
of body armors are high technology products and they embody last achievements in
technology and science. The the only verified and reliable method for effectiveness
assessment of needed ballistic protection from different threats (bullets, fragments,
explosions, stab protection, etc.), is ballistic test. The bullet resistance is maybe most
important feature of body armors. And the more often used method for assssment
of ballistic protection level is determined by series 0101 NIJ Standards: the body
armor, mounted on plasticine block is hitted by different caliber ammo and at one
side there hasn't to be penetration, and at other hand the blunt trauma hasn't to
exceed 44 mm. These should guarantee body armor ballistic protection rate. Other
“plasticine" based ballistic testing standards have same imperfections, because they
origin from 0101 series of NIJ Standards.
This scenario for bullet resistance testing is needed for general reconstruction: the
plasticine has a quite different properties in comparison with different areas of
human body; the measured value of penetration has only static component – lack of
correspondence with real situations, dynamic component (impact wave propagation,
character of wave, etc.) isn't included; and last but not least this criteria for highspeed
(rifle) bullets never has been compared with human/animal corpses results.
These imperfections of the scenario specify the goal of this paper – to summarize
main problems related with this scenario of testing and to provide some directions to
improve testing methodology.