A Comparison of Fragment Simulating Projectiles and Real Fragments with Respect to Soft Body Armour Performance

Abstract

Modern body armour is tested using fragment simulating projectiles (FSPs) not real fragments. In the UK, chisel nosed FSPs (CN FSPs) are used as part of a quality assurance regimen as they provide repeatability, consistency, standardisation and also allow comparisons to be made among armours. In this work a typical military (soft) body armour was tested using i) real fragments collected from Mortar Bomb 81mm HE L41 and ii) CN FSPs. Statistical analysis showed there was no linear correlation between real fragments and CN FSPs. CN FSPs behaved in a predictable manner and were not accurate representations of real fragments which behaved unpredictably due to the different shapes, sizes and masses. This observation provides insight into research exploring the use of CN FSPs to test the ballistic performance of typical body armour.