Successful results of the cooperation of our Lieskovec Specialized Testing Operation

Ballistic protection is still an integral part of the equipment of the Armed Forces. Recently, a new ceramic material was developed on the basis of a project led by KONŠTRUKTA-Defense, a. s., Dubnica nad Váhom with a large share of the Institute of Materials Research of the Slovak Academy of Sciences in Košice. It was the objective to find a new nanocomposite ceramic material enabling to increase the ballistic protection resistance of the currently used ballistic resistant means.

Results of shooting tests performed in the accredited testing laboratory of KONŠTRUKTA-Defense, a. s., Dubnica nad Váhom indicated that this route is feasible. The development of an improved nanoceramic material – the work of scientists from the Institute of Materials Research of the Slovak Academy of Sciences in Košice, indicated that the way of treatment of ceramic material by adding the nanocomposite particles modified the possibilities of body protection against firearms. This improvement was achieved by increasing the toughness of the ceramic material by using graphene nanoplates. Graphene stops the propagation of cracks and forces the change of crack development direction in all three dimensions.

The picture shows the ballistic protection for an individual, manufactured by the W.A.R. Defender, s. r. o., Bratislava, which participated in the results of the entire project. The nanocomposite ceramic plates on the ballistic plate that are the result of the project solution, are shown.  The insertion of the plate into the ballistic vest is structurally solved by the design of the vest itself. The marked nanocomposite ceramic plates are placed as a whole with the original ceramic material in order to make a comparison there on the final product of the project. The production of these new plates represents technologically a very demanding process in the laboratory conditions and it is currently still in the stage of further development, which has also indicated a certain reduction in the weight of the nanocomposite ceramic material itself. This fact is especially important for the lower physical load imposed on the fighting soldier.