As I was searching for something interesting to report on wool, I stumbled across articles and a u-tube video about a bullet proof material being developed that used wool. How amazing. Not sure how this has progressed as the article and u tube video are dated 2011. Though I did find some more articles dealing with the comfort factor of the wool and kevlar mixed material. I thought I would share some of what I found with you.
In 2011 Researchers at RMIT University were developing bullet-resistant wool as a lighter and cheaper alternative to bullet-proof vests, claiming it will work in both wet and dry conditions.
Dr Rajiv Padhye and Dr Lyndon Arnold, from RMIT’s School of Fashion and Textiles, have found a vest made of wool-Kevlar blend works better in the wet and needs fewer layers than existing ballistic vests.
Padhye says Kevlar is a strong but expensive fabric that loses about 20% of its effectiveness when wet, requiring costly treatments to make the material waterproof.
“While a typical Kevlar vest is made of about 36 layers, our wool-Kevlar blend only needs 28 to 30 layers to achieve the same bullet-resistant effect,” Padhye says.
“And because wool fibres expand naturally in water by up to 16%, the wool-Kevlar blend actually becomes more effective in wet conditions.”
“With Kevlar averaging about $70 per kilogram, compared to about $12 for wool, reducing the amount required to make a vest is a real incentive for manufacturers.”
The researchers are currently working with ballistics vest manufacturers to commercialise the product.