Abstract
Natural fiber reinforced polymer composites have recently been investigated as a component of multilayered armor system (MAS). These composites were found to present advantages when replacing conventional high strength synthetic aramid fabric laminate composite (KevlarTM, with same thickness, as MAS second layer. Continuous and loose natural fibers were up to now mostly used to reinforce these ballistic composites. Only two natural fabrics reinforced polymer composite were so far used with same purpose. Therefore, this work investigated the possibility of substituting KevlarTM for three other natural fabrics, based on mallow and jute fibers, as reinforcement of epoxy composites. Fabrics made of either pure mallow, or 70%mallow/30% jute or 50%mallow/50% jute fibers were separately mixed with epoxy to produce laminate composite plates. These plates were set as second layer of Al2O3/Nb2O5 front ceramic MAS, that were ballistic tested against relatively high energy 7.62 mm ammunition. Indentation depth values caused by the bullet penetration in clay witness, simulating human body behind the MAS, were always found to be below the safety standard limit. These indentation values were similar to those obtained in MAS with KevlarTM as second layer. However, significant economical advantages favor the investigated natural fabric composites over the synthetic Kevlar.
Highlights
Synthetic high strength fibers, such as glass, carbon and aramid have, from past decades, been successfully used as reinforcement of polymer composites in several engineering areas[1]
The ballistic performance was evaluated in standard tests[24] against high energy 7.62 mm ammunition by measuring the depth of indentation produced in clay witness simulating a human body behind the multilayered system (MAS)
A block of standard[24] treated clay witness was placed behind the MAS in direct contact with the aluminum back layer
Summary
Synthetic high strength fibers, such as glass, carbon and aramid have, from past decades, been successfully used as reinforcement of polymer composites in several engineering areas[1]. Güven et al[11] indicated that a escalating number of publications on natural fiber composites occurred in the last two decades. Investigations on the ballistic performance of natural fiber composites are, since 2001, following this tendency[15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23]. Specific works[18,19,20,21,22,23] were published on the ballistic performance of natural fibers reinforced polymeric composites. The ballistic performance was evaluated in standard tests[24] against high energy 7.62 mm ammunition by measuring the depth of indentation produced in clay witness simulating a human body behind the MAS
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