Ballistic resistance and energy dissipation of woven-fabric composite targets: Insights on the effects of projectile shape and obliquity angle

Abstract

This study aims at investigating the ballistic resistance and energy absorption in woven E-glass composite panels, considering different projectile nose shapes and oblique incidence angles. To that scope, three-dimensional finite element (FE) models of both projectiles and the laminated target are developed and numerical investigations are carried out using Abaqus Explicit solver. The composite damage model's constitutive law encompasses nonlinear material response, material properties degradation, progressive failure, and an element deletion strategy. The cohesive surface technique is used to represent the interface between two adjacent plies in the laminate, and the traction-separation law is used to characterize the behaviors of interlaminar degradation and failure. Material responses attributable to fiber rupture, matrix cracking, and plasticity caused by micro-matrix cracking due to shear loading are taken into account with suitable damage evolution laws. The computational framework is first validated against the experimental results reported in the literature by performing ballistic impact tests on the target laminate with conical, hemispherical and blunt-ended projectile, and the numerical results showed a good comparison in terms of residual velocity. Subsequently the framework is explored in simulating more complex failure mechanisms, with particular emphasis on the influence of the impact angle of obliquity, a parameter that is not usually analyzed in the literature. In that regard, the effects of normal and oblique impact on the damage morphologies and ballistic behavior of the fabric composite target in terms of energy absorption, impact contact force, and projectile residual velocity are conducted and analyzed, comparatively. The findings showed that the ballistic impact behavior of target composite is substantially influenced by projectile nose shape and incidence angle obliquity.