DEPLOYABLE BALLISTIC-RESISTANT SHIELD

Noah Martin

RESEARCH QUESTION METHODOLOGY HYPOTHESIS CONCLUSION

How can I effectively and affordably protect 1. Hypothesize possible designs for the device None of the materials will be able to stop the AR15 My hypothesis was partly correct. All plate types
students from harm in case of an active 2. Research potential candidates for materials round. In regards to the 9mm round, the epoxied failed against the AR15 as expected, but the non-
shooter event? 3. Purchase materials and glue/epoxies UHMWPE will fare better than the non- epoxied, epoxied version of the UHMWPE fared much better
INTRODUCTION 4. Create two 4x4” panels of each type/combination of and the 1” thick PC+PMMA combo plate will be
insufficient in stopping the bullet.
than the epoxied. The 1” thick PC+PMMA was also
successful, contrary to my hypothesis. Every test
In the wake of incidents like Columbine, Sandy Hook,
material. Record thickness and number of layers (If
applicable) that included a combination of those materials fared
Parkland, Virginia Tech, and many others, the threat of very well against the 9mm. This makes the variant
active shooter situations in American schools has become 5. Determine which guns to use in testing based on
statistical trends in school shootings used in tests 1 and 2 actually very promising for use
an increasingly major concern. These instances are all in the DBRS. Its lightweight nature and relatively
heartbreaking, and something needs to be done to prevent 6. Test each panel and carefully record results. Note low cost are what led me to choose this combination
further tragedy in the future. Others have attempted to fraying or warping of material, number of layers as the victor. The UHMWPE fabric was also
solve the issue by amending gun laws and regulations, and penetrated, and other notable observations. promising, but is more expensive. Both materials are
creating devices to be used. So in an attempt to help protect 7. Determine best material to use based on cost, weight, much too expensive for practical use, with both
Fig 1.
myself and my peers in case of such an atrocity, I began to and bullet penetration. types of plates costing roughly $1000 to cover the
develop my device: the DBRS, the Deployable Ballistic- Cutting
8. Build a half scale model prototype of the device using polycarbonate for needed surface area. The PC+PMMA was found to
Resistant Shield. substitute materials (i.e. Normal fabric instead of
the plates. be slightly cheaper. The prototype was built with the
The first step in creating the door barricade was to test a UHMWPE, wood instead of plastics) PC+PMMA plates in mind, but the UHMWPE
variety of ballistic fabrics, epoxies, and plastics. The would most likely work just as well. The prototype
materials tested were chosen based on varying qualities works very well conceptually, but a full scale model
such as weight, thickness, cost, and most importantly, the implementing actual materials has yet to be tested.
ability to stop a bullet. Each type of material was tested The model was mainly to highlight the basic
against a Ruger 556 AR15 style rifle and a Glock 19 9mm mechanics of the device.
pistol. Once I decided which material was to be used, I
built a half scale model of a school door and constructed Fig 6.
my prototype around that. This was mainly because of cost Test #6. Left:
constraints and the fact that I’m not allowed to build and Pierced first layer
of PC.
test on an actual school door.
Middle: Pierced
and shattered first
layer of PMMA.
Fig 7. Right: Untouched
Top: 9mm FMJ ammo used in last layer of PC +
pistol tests 35 layers of
Bottom: .223 Remington UHMWPE.
ammo used in Rifle tests
NEXT STEPS
Fig 2. Fig 3. Fig 4. Fig 5.
Interior view, in folded up Interior view, fully Exterior view, fully Exterior view of a school Unfortunately, I was only able to test against two
PROTOTYPE DESIGN AND position. deployed. deployed door types of guns and two types of ammo, and I was also
ENGINEERING CHALLENGES MATERIAL TESTING RESULTS
only able to test each plate variant against any given
gun once. The sample size was incredibly small.
My prototype consists of very few moving parts. There is a This was mostly due to cost and time constraints. I
PC ¼” - PMMA ½ “ – PC ¼” UHMWPE 64 Layers COMBO PC ½” – PMMA ½“ –
storage compartment that is bolted to the top of the door. (1”) PC ¼” - PMMA ½ “ – PC PC ½” (1.5”)
would have much rather tested each variant multiple
This compartment contains a folded up sheet with 1 inch ¼” + 35 Layers UHMWPE times against each gun, though sadly this was
thick bulletproof plates interwoven into it, with one end Ruger 556 (AR15) • Back panel fell off • Clean entry and exit point • Clean pierce through • Clean shot through all unachievable. Even ignoring flaws in
attached to the roof of the compartment. The bottom is .223 Remington Ammo • Very small exit hole on PMMA • Bullet passed through like butter PC/PMMA layers experimentation, this project still contains many
pulled out, then the sheet drops to the floor and is hooked to • Outward warping/fraying • Exit point pushed last areas of improvement. Though the materials tested
at exit point PC layer out in a sort
the base of the door with a bar lock. This bar lock
of reverse volcano
were relatively successful, to cover an entire door,
mechanism solves the problem of securing an outward shape most of the materials would cost around $1000. A
swinging door, so even if a shooter decided to shoot the TEST 1: FAILURE TEST 3: FAILURE TEST 5: FAILURE TEST 7: FAILURE major factor in future research would be finding a
existing lock out, they would still have great difficulty Semi Auto Glock 19 • Back layer of PC missing completely, • Captured bullet fully • Shot pierced the first layer N/A cheaper alternative material that is able to stop rifle
9mm FMJ Ammo shattered? • Passed through only 10-12 of PC and PMMA, but not
getting the door open at all. One engineering challenge I • First shot hit edge & compromised test layers the second layer of PC or
rounds. I also hope to create a full scale prototype to
encountered included designing a durable locking • Glue failed at all points the UHMWPE conduct testing on. As mentioned before, the current
mechanism. This was solved by implementing the bar lock TEST 2: SUCCESS TEST 6: SUCCESS prototype is mostly to explain the logistics of the
system. I also was met with the challenge of finding a TEST 4: SUCCESS DBRS. In terms of editing the prototype, the method
PC ¼” - PMMA ½ “ – PC ¼” – PMMA UHMWPE + Epoxy
bulletproof material that was flexible enough to be rolled ¼” – PC ¼” (1.5”) 64 Layers for releasing the bulletproof sheet could be very
up. This ended up being near impossible. To combat this, I difficult for shorter teachers to use. Figuring out a
Ruger 556 (AR15) • Clean entry • Completely pierced N/A N/A
developed a folded, accordion-like design. It is a series of .223 Remington Ammo • Last layer of PC detached • Significant fraying and outward different approach to this is necessary for a
bulletproof plates that fold up in the storage container. • Last layer of PC contains very large warping at exit functioning prototype.
REFERENCES
Another issue I found was the fact that most ballistic grade exit wound
TEST 8: FAILURE TEST 10: FAILURE
armors cannot stop a rifle round. I considered AR-500 steel, Semi Auto Glock 19 • Top 2 layers of glue separated • 2 grazing shots N/A N/A
an incredibly durable material designed to stop rifle rounds. 9mm FMJ Ammo • 1st layer of PC pierced (Some cracking • 1st shot barely grazed side • Boyd, H. (n.d.). Student says his door lock invention can save lives: EBSCOhost.
Retrieved from
The major issue with implementing steel into the design is with large exit hole) • 2nd hit lower center of plate http://eds.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?vid=11&sid=cc01c58d-e4b8-411b-
the fact that in order to cover the appropriate area at ½” • PMMA absorbed remainder of impact - Bullet changed direction roughly b5076b7949c8afb%40sessionmgr4007&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#
db=a9h&AN=J0E059039844118
• Surface chipping and significant 12 layers in, moving downward
thickness, it would weigh over 1000 lbs. This problem has splintering of PMMA’s inside abruptly • Gerard, F. J., Whitfield, K. C., Porter, L. E., & Brownie, K. D. (n.d.). Offender and Offence
yet to be solved. While I accomplished many of my • 3rd layer of PC cracked from impact of - Exited at bottom of plate Characteristics of School Shooting Incidents EBSCOost2. Retrieved from
http://eds.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?vid=2&sid=c2b4bf22-4442-4504-8c5f-
engineering goals, I was still met with a couple seemingly PMMA, but not touched by bullet itself - Warped all remaining layers 50792d52d4ae%40pdc-v-
TEST 9: SUCCESS TEST 11: RESULTS sessmgr03&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN=129298582&db=a9h
unsolvable problems. I hope to attempt to solve these
INCONCLUSIVE • Montes, J. (2018, March 1). Preplanning Response to Active Shooter/Hostile Events:
problems and possibly improve on current solutions in the Proposed NFPA 3000.: EBSCOhost. Retrieved from
PC: Polycarbonate PMMA: Polymethylmethacrylate (Acrylic) UHMWPE: Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (Fabric) http://eds.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=20&sid=a88a0a8f-ffe6-
future. 43c2-b32d-a4c8d9893ad9%40sessionmgr4008