Specifying and testing idealized bust surrogates for testing of female stab-resistant body armor

Abstract

Manufacturers of stab-resistant body armor continually strive to improve the comfort of the armor wearer and maximize protection. As female officers make up a larger portion of the law enforcement and corrections workplace, armor manufacturers have begun to offer designs that accommodate contoured body shapes, such as the female bust region, which results in non-planar armor. Conventional test methodologies for body armor were designed for armor to be tested flat and do not accommodate contoured armor. This work reviews the available literature concerning common bust sizes and discusses the research performed to specify bust surrogate size, shape, and materials for testing stab-resistant female body armor. Two standard cup sizes, B and D, modeled as a paraboloid with a modified base, are recommended to meet breast volume requirements. Recommendations for manufacture of these surrogates for incorporation into standardized test methods are provided. Instrumented stab testing of these surrogates shows that impact location on a structured armor and the type of backing material increase the maximum deceleration of a spike impact. © 2015, SAGE Publications. All rights reserved.