Question Armor protective capabilities?

[Rabbit]

Question on armor capabilities. Is the armor resistance to impact progressive, so when you receive an impact it absorbs some of the force but some always gets through, or is it only protective to a point and then it fails and 100% of the force makes it through.

 

[MZ5]

All of the motorcycle gear armor I've ever owned, felt, or played with transmits _some_ percentage of force through all the time. I believe it is accurate to say that _all_ of it will get overwhelmed at some point, and simply pass everything above a certain input level on through to you. What that level is depends upon the specific piece of armor you're playing with, of course.

 

[Rabbit]

All of the motorcycle gear armor I've ever owned, felt, or played with transmits _some_ percentage of force through all the time. I believe it is accurate to say that _all_ of it will get overwhelmed at some point, and simply pass everything above a certain input level on through to you. What that level is depends upon the specific piece of armor you're playing with, of course.

Ok thank you. Trying to determine how protective some of the armor actually is because I honestly have no idea how good or bad 18 kilonewtons of force actually is

 

[the Ferret]

A lot of armor is designed to spread out energy while absorbing some of the shock..it's why they put it on knees, hips, elbows, spine, place where full force impact can have devastating results.

Think of armor like a boxing glove which cushions absorbs and spreads out the blow. A hard punch to the face doesn't break your jaw but it can still knock you out lol.

 

[Rabbit]

A lot of armor is designed to spread out energy while absorbing some of the shock..it's why they put it on knees, hips, elbows, spine, place where full force impact can have devastating results.

Think of armor like a boxing glove which cushions absorbs and spreads out the blow. A hard punch to the face doesn't break your jaw but it can still knock you out lol.

Very fair. Thank you

 

[skills4lou]

Ok thank you. Trying to determine how protective some of the armor actually is because I honestly have no idea how good or bad 18 kilonewtons of force actually is

18kilonewtons is roughly 4050 lbs force. For reference, average human body surface area is ~22 square feet. Atmospheric pressure is ~14.7psi....so the air is pushing on your body with roughly 4700lbs total.

All that to say the force isn't the issue. The impulse force (force per time) is what kills you. The armor is designed to increase the amount of time that force is applied, as well as spread it out over a larger surface area.

 

[Rabbit]

18kilonewtons is roughly 4050 lbs force. For reference, average human body surface area is ~22 square feet. Atmospheric pressure is ~14.7psi....so the air is pushing on your body with roughly 4700lbs total.

All that to say the force isn't the issue. The impulse force (force per time) is what kills you. The armor is designed to increase the amount of time that force is applied, as well as spread it out over a larger surface area.

Which makes the transmitted force described in the CE standards that much more difficult for me to understand their relevance. Thank you for the response though.

 

[skills4lou]

Yea, the problem is: How fast are you going when you crash, how hard is the object you hit, what is it's speed relative to you, and what is the contact area?
The CE standards make assumptions and pick one set of values that will most likely NOT be applicable to your/my next crash. It's a rabbit hole you can go VERY deep into. I'm an engineer, so I like the math side of it. When I ride, I wear protection and understand that it may or may not keep my innards where they belong. I don't get too hung up on it though. Dress for the slide, then turn off the worry and enjoy. The bottom line is some protection is better than no protection, but the best way to be safer is to crawl into a cage with airbags. Or better yet don't leave home.

 

[Rabbit]

Yea, the problem is: How fast are you going when you crash, how hard is the object you hit, what is it's speed relative to you, and what is the contact area?
The CE standards make assumptions and pick one set of values that will most likely NOT be applicable to your/my next crash. It's a rabbit hole you can go VERY deep into. I'm an engineer, so I like the math side of it. When I ride, I wear protection and understand that it may or may not keep my innards where they belong. I don't get too hung up on it though. Dress for the slide, then turn off the worry and enjoy. The bottom line is some protection is better than no protection, but the best way to be safer is to crawl into a cage with airbags. Or better yet don't leave home.

I enjoy the math side too (materials science) but trying to understand the relevance of what the numbers mean in real terms makes my head spin.