Armor Test: Expired Kevlar from AR500, Ceramic BulletSafe plate

[nowhere-man]

I was always curious whether the armor we can buy is real or fake. Recently I realized that a few plates in my closet are expired. So I decided to use it as an opportunity to satisfy my curiosity. Below results of the shooting of an expired AR500's level II soft panel and BulletSafe's level IV ceramic panel. I used 115 gr FMJ 9mm and 123gr FMJ 7.62x39.

Level II vs 9mm front

Level II vs 9mm back. It works.

Level IV vs 7.62mm front

Level IV vs 7.62mm back. It works. But the bump size suggests that it should hurt like a hell.

Just out of curiosity. Level II vs 7.62mm back. Wow...

And Level IV vs 9mm. Easy to see why ceramic is one-hit option.



The good news is that both plates are from a low price range and are old enough (both were purchased in 2015-2016).

I hope this would help somebody with armor choice .

Scroll down to post #15 for 5.7x28 vs IIIa plate

Armor Test: Expired Kevlar from AR500, Ceramic BulletSafe plate

I was always curious whether the armor we can buy is real or fake. Recently I realized that a few plates in my closet are expired. So I decided to use it as an opportunity to satisfy my curiosity. Below results of the shooting of an expired AR500's level II soft panel and BulletSafe's level IV...

carolinafirearmsforum.com

 

[Jeppo]

I’m curious. Why do plates expire?

 

[Amps 13]

What Mr. Sash said!

 

[nowhere-man]

I’m curious. Why do plates expire?

That's what they say:

How Long Does Body Armor Last?

You may wear your tactical vest for work every day—or you might keep a vest easily accessible in your home in case of an emergency. Whether or not you wear these safety products daily, they will eventually degrade. Believe it or not, body armor is manufactured with an expiration date, which is...

www.bodyarmordirect.com

There is some reason behind that, but the "expired" plate worked perfectly. So, I guess they deteriorate slower.

 

[THE PUNISHER]

I’m curious. Why do plates expire?

So you’ll buy so more...

 

[Jerzsubbie]

So you’ll buy so more...

Bingo! Or should we say, “so that government agencies will buy more frequently.”

 

[Jerzsubbie]

Not surprised at all but thanks for doing the test and sharing the info!

 

[IrishCannon]

This was helpful! I'm actually in the market for some plates ATM.

Sent from my moto g fast using Tapatalk

 

[THE PUNISHER]

It was a good test, good info. I just can’t understand why Kevlar or ceramic or even ar500 plates would expire....clearly the test done shows it’s still great after the date. Once again thanks to nowhere-man for the information and real world test!!!

 

[JBoyette]

I’m curious. Why do plates expire?

The expiration is based on total wear use. Meaning you wore these plates for 40hrs a week *52 = expiration date.

Sweat, dust cupcake debris adds up over time

 

[CHRIS_WNC]

Blasting armor is fun. I did it as a job for a while.

CHRIS

 

[Chuckman]

Materials degrade over time, faster with constant wear and tear, and ceramic is pretty fragile.

 

[georgel]

I’m curious. Why do plates expire?

The same reason meds do... And not nearly at the rate that you're lead to believe.

However, as mentioned, materials do eventually degrade over time and manufacturers are considering worse case. I've noticed a lot of unrelated plastics seem to just quit after about 10yrs. Car parts, knobs, handles, coverings seem to start disintegrating. Heat and UV seem to be major factors.


There was a type of soft body armor fiber that was recalled or at least warnings were sent out because those vest were degrading under normal use after a couple of years. Multiple companies used that fiber, because it was lighter in weight. But, they were very sensitive to heat and moisture. This isn't plates, but an example of what happens to materials.

Here it is, Zylon... This is from 2007.

Properties of Zylon®​

Part of the Body Armor Safety Initiative is an applied research component that examined material properties of Zylon® to understand the causes of the ballistic failures. Preliminary findings from the applied research effort indicate that:

• Zylon® fibers show a systematic loss in tensile strength, tensile strain [2], and ballistic performance correlated with the breakage of specific bonds in the chemical structure of the material.
• It is likely that the ballistic performance degradation in Zylon®-containing armors is closely related to the chemical changes in poly-p-phenylene benzobisoxazole, the chemical basis of Zylon® fiber. The breakage of one particular part of the PBO molecule, known as the oxazole ring, correlates with degradation of the mechanical properties of Zylon® fibers. The breakage in the oxazole ring can be monitored using an analysis technique known as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy.
• Preliminary investigations into Zylon® degradation mechanisms have suggested that oxazole-ring breakage occurs as a result of exposure to both moisture and light.
• When there was no potential for external moisture to contact Zylon® yarns, there was no significant change in the tensile strength of these yarns. External moisture may be necessary to facilitate the degradation of Zylon® fibers.

See Third Status Report to the Attorney General on Body Armor Safety Initiative Testing and Activities (pdf, 47 pages) for greater detail on these findings.

 

[Average Joe]

Materials degrade over time, faster with constant wear and tear, and ceramic is pretty fragile.

Vest and armor will last past it’s expiration date. The issue, when does it go from good to bad. Like @Chuckman said, ceramic is fragile. Who is going to get it properly inspected every year for cracks? When do the fibers of a ballistic vest fail? That’s the thing, we can’t actually determine when a vest or armor (except for ceramic if it’s cracked) is no longer effective. That’s why they have expiration dates. The manufactures are saying in the harshest conditions, we know our product will be effective. And I’ve had some manufactures tell me the expiration date is conservative for liability purposes. However, I for don’t want to find out when the shooting starts that my vest or armor is a few days past it’s effective lifespan. There just isn’t away of looking at the outside and going yeah it’s good to go today.

 

[nowhere-man]

The second session. I had a pair for the side panel I tortured before and curiosity whether 5.7x28 really is "armor-piercing" as it is advertised.

I tried SS198 green tip and American Eagle TMJ against Safe Life Class IIIa panel

SS198 green tip passed as a knife through butter (click on thumbnails to see bigger image).




TMJ round was stopped, but...



The panel was "torn apart" and only next to the last layer actually stopped the bullet. So, I am afraid the next few rounds would find their way through the panel.



And this is how hard it pushed it into the target.

 

[Spartan]

You might want to look into non ceramic plates, like Angel Armor, ultra light and amazing...