A Georgia Tech researcher is commercializing the technology he developed to increase the hardness and improve the ballistic performance of body armor.

Boron carbide is the Defense Department's material of choice for body armor. It is the third hardest material on Earth, yet it's extremely lightweight.

Materials science and engineering professor Robert Speyer knew that the boron carbide powder used to form the armor had a reputation for poor performance during sintering — a high-temperature process in which particles consolidate, without melting, to eliminate pores between them in the solid state. Poor sintering yields a more porous material that fractures more easily — not a good thing for a soldier depending on it to stop a bullet.

Speyer and his research team have created a new boron carbide formation process based on methodical control of thermal and atmospheric conditions during sintering. The method yields higher relative densities — and thus better ballistic performance — than currently available boron carbide armor.

He has formed Verco Materials under the advisory support of Georgia Tech's VentureLab, which helps faculty members commercialize their research. A Tech patent on Speyer's sintering process is pending and, when granted, Verco will have access to an exclusive license.

The company has received two technology commercialization grants totaling $100,000 from the Georgia Research Alliance to fabricate prototypes for potential military and industrial customers. The Georgia Tech Rapid Prototyping and Manufacturing Institute assisted with fabrication of model armor shapes.

The U.S. Army Soldier Systems Center has conducted ballistic testing on a small boron carbide disk provided by Verco. With a $75,000 grant from the center, Verco will produce 6-by-6-inch plates for more comprehensive military ballistic testing.

The Army Research Laboratory at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland will be examining boron carbide materials early this year that it bought from Verco. Speyer also expects to make thigh and shin plate prototypes for Concurrent Technologies Corp.

In addition, Verco is collaborating with the Georgia Tech Research Institute, which has developed a composite armor blast bucket for the ULTRA AP, a concept military combat vehicle designed to improve survivability and mobility. Verco and GRTI hope to modify the blast bucket by replacing heavier ceramic spheres with lightweight boron carbide ones.

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