Car armor: Material evolves; understand how it’s made – 06/09/2023 – Market

The ballistic protections that are on most vehicle armor in Brazil are developed and tested by DuPont. But there are no rifles or pistols in the company’s laboratory, in Barueri (Greater São Paulo).

The shots are fired by a machine capable of receiving bullets of different calibers, which hit pieces of yellow blankets of different thicknesses. It’s Kevlar.

The synthetic thread, petroleum-based, looks like nylon. A 10 kg spool of this material costs approximately R$ 2,000. The textile structures made from this line determine its resistance.

The company’s latest variation is the Kevlar Prepeg HA K260. The manufacturer says that the material allows for a 25% reduction in the weight of the shield, in addition to being thinner and more malleable than previous generations of the product. Resistance is maintained, according to the supplier.

This weight reduction helps reduce wear and tear on the car, but the biggest problem is in the windows and windshield, which receive high-resistance transparent plates.

According to DuPont, the original glass, which is 6 mm thick, reaches up to 21 mm with the two layers of polycarbonate protection.

At the end of the process, both a sedan and a medium-sized SUV gain between 150 kg and 200 kg with the armor. The changes make maintenance difficult, which can make workshop services more expensive.

“The biggest problems with the armored vehicles are the brakes, which suffer when going and stopping in the city, and the suspension”, says Bruno Tinoco Martinucci, owner of the Motorfast workshop. He also mentions the common defects that appear in glass, such as detachment of layers.

This process can be caused by heat and is called delamination. Visually, the problem appears in the form of bubbles, which mean loss of protection and difficulties in seeing.

Martinucci explains that it is necessary to know how to use an armored car to increase its useful life. “You should not, for example, close the doors with the windows open, because this can cause problems such as cracks in the windows.”

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See what are the stages of armoring a vehicle:*

• Army authorization application
• Vehicle disassembly: removal of seats and other components from the interior of the car
• Application of aramid, a high strength synthetic fiber material, and stainless steel
• Glass installation
• Reassembly of the inner part
• Electrical, running tests, among others

*materials and stages may vary according to the assembler and shield design