Ballistic Performance of Natural Fiber Based Soft and Hard Body Armour- A Mini Review

J Naveen,K Jayakrishna,Mohamed Thariq Bin Hameed Sultan,Siti Madiha Muhammad Amir

doi:10.3389/fmats.2020.608139

Abstract

Increase in awareness towards utilization of eco-friendly materials, encouraged the researchers to find a sustainable alternative to synthetic fibers for different engineering applications. High performance Kevlar fabrics are widely used in ballistic applications such as bullet proof helmets, vest, and other armour systems. Ballistic impact produces shock waves which may cause severe trauma injuries to the soldiers. Kevlar fabric based armour system provides acceptable range of protection to the soldiers. However, disposal of Kevlar affects the eco system and pollutes the environment. Replacing Kevlar fabric in the protective structures with an eco-friendly light weight material, together with an improved kinetic energy absorption and dissipation has become an interesting approach to enhance the ballistic performance of the composite panels. This mini review addresses the effect of adding different natural fibers on the ballistic performance of soft and multilayered hard body armour systems. Many researchers explored the possibility of utilizing eco-friendly natural fibers (Kenaf, Cocos nucifera sheath, Malva, rami, curaua, bagasse, jute, bamboo) as an alternate material to Kevlar fabric in the armour system and reported that natural fibers can act as a potential reinforcement in the ballistic structures.

Highlights

Ancient body armours were made by using plant fiber or animal hide
The results revealed that ramie fabric based multilayer armour system exhibited 10–20% smaller back face signature or blunt trauma compared to Kevlar/epoxy composites based multilayer armour system (Monteiro et al, 2016)
Several researchers explored the possibility of utilizing natural fiber based soft and hard body armour panels

Summary

Introduction

Ancient body armours were made by using plant fiber or animal hide. After the arrival of metallic materials, body armors have been made as a plate by using iron, copper, and steel. Aramid fiber based polymeric composites are widely used in ballistic applications such as bullet proof helmets, body armour vest, and other armor systems due to its ability to resist high kinetic energy projectiles. The notion of this review is to analyze the ballistic performance in terms of energy absorption, limit velocity and depth of indentation of natural fiber based soft and multilayer armour system.

Results

Conclusion