BALLISTIC PROTECTIVE BUOYANCY MATERIALS

The difficulty encountered by textile processors in the application and curing of the Decetex-104 upon the Acrilan fibers prompted the Chemstrand Company in cooperation with this laboratory to attempt the hydrophobing of the fibers during their preparation. As a result, siliconecoated staple fibers were produced and furnished to this laboratory for verification and testing. Two prototype jackets, medium and large, were tested for buoyancy. The liners were compartmented felts prepared by the American Felt Company from pre-hydrophobed 1.0 dpf Acrilan staple fibers. The medium jacket had an initial buoyancy slightly in excess of 6-12 lbs., and after 20 minutes of immersion dropped well below 4 lbs. However, when 12 lb. of the compartmented Acrylic felt was added, a remarkable increase in buoyancy was shown. A ballistic efficiency curve is also presented, representative of a needled felt containing the one denier Acrilan fibers which had been prehydrophobed. The comparison of this representative curve with previous ballistic curves for the laboratory hydrophobed Acrilan felts show that there is no essential difference in their performances.