Jan 12, 2007
S'porean's liquid armour fires up defence giant's interest
Used on bullet-resistant fabrics to make them stronger, invention
may lead to lucrative deal
By DEFENCE CORRESPONDENT, David Boey
A SINGAPOREAN car salesman-turned-entrepreneur has invented a
'liquid armour' that has attracted the attention of a European
defence giant that makes ballistic fabrics.
The company - which Mr Norman Lim declines to name for commercial
reasons - bought a trial batch of his liquid armour two weeks ago
and, if things go well, he could land a supply contract said to be
worth several million dollars.
The liquid armour, sold in 200kg drums, is used to treat ballistic
fabrics such as Kevlar, to make them stronger.
The fabrics, sewn together to make bullet-resistant vests or
laminated to make helmets, are soaked in the liquid armour. The
secret concoction dries within minutes and strengthens the Kevlar
substantially.
The deal could mark a breakthrough for Mr Lim, a 41-year-old
inventor who chanced on the formula while experimenting with
high-strength resins.
He has sunk about $200,000 of his own savings and money from
venture capitalists into his experiments since 2004, and is now
looking into filing a patent for his invention.
'I'm very pleased. It's like watching your child grow up,' said Mr
Lim of the progress of his invention.
The entrepreneur made the news in November 2005, when The Straits
Times interviewed him on his experiments. He has since been working
quietly behind the scenes, courting defence companies
worldwide.
Mr Lim holds a diploma in theology and has no formal training in
defence science. His interest in composite materials and resins
started in his teens, when he made dioramas, or scaled-down
landscapes, for his plastic models of tanks and warplanes.
And as a young adult, he worked on composite materials, but
graduated from model cars to the real thing, fabricating shock-
proof body kits for rally cars and racing bikes.
His curiosity drove him to find out just how strong his materials
were - so he tested them overseas with gunfire.
Though impressed with their toughness, Mr Lim's interest in
composites took a back seat when he sold cars for a European brand.
But he took a leap into the unknown in November 2004, when he left
the car dealership.
On Wednesday morning, Mr Lim staged a firing demonstration to
showcase how his liquid armour improves the performance of
bullet-resistant material.
During the hour-long live-firing trial at Cisco's indoor range, 9mm
bullets fired from an MP5 submachine gun failed to penetrate an
armour panel when fired from a distance of 6m. The untreated
material had worked as advertised.
But the impact of the bullet punched a fist-sized indentation about
20mm deep in a layer of plasticine placed behind a piece of vest.
If placed on a real person, his vital organs could be ruptured,
injuring him severely or killing him.
Enter Mr Lim's specially treated armour. In the demonstration
witnessed by The Straits Times and several arms dealers, bullets
fired from 6m bounced off the armour panel, while one shattered on
impact into a shower of fragments.
And the impact on the plasticine? A moderate 10mm to 13mm
depression. 'You may get a bad bruise, but you'll survive,' said Mr
Lim.
An arms dealer, who sells body armour and guns, was impressed with
the show.
'The discovery by Norman is unique,' said the arms dealer, who
declined to be named for security reasons. 'It's changed the
concept for defeating ammunition. His method and the way he does it
can reduce the weight of body armour substantially.'
Apart from toughening body armour, Mr Lim's invention also makes
armour stab-resistant - a capability most body armour lacks.
In field trials here, a bullet-resistant vest treated with liquid
armour withstood a bayonet plunged into it from 2m with 90kg weight
behind it.
The arms dealer added: 'He could revolutionise the way body armour
is made worldwide.'
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