Ballistic Performance of Epoxy-Ramie Composite - SiC Layered Body Armor Using Finite Element Analysis

Abstract

Composite body armor has widely used as bulletproof material combined with hard plates made from ceramic or metals. That replaced the use of full-metals body armor that heavy, rigid, and restricts the user's movement. This study investigates the ballistic performance of SiC-based hard layer body armor on its possible impact position using finite element analysis. The body armor panel consists both of soft and hard layers. The soft layer is made from epoxy-ramie composite which is a natural fiber composite. The hard layer made from hexagonal chip l SiC with 4 mm thickness in an array. There are three possible impact points on the chip which are the center of the chip, between two chips, and between three chips. The soft layer is varied at a range of 6-25 mm depending on its capability to comply with the latest NIJ 0101.07-2019 criteria for RF1. NIJ has several criteria for ballistic performance. This paper discusses panel penetration and Back-face Deformation (BFD) based NIJ. Besides, this paper also discusses the impact of energy absorption and velocity reduction of the bullet by the panel.