Abstract
Although considerable research has been directed at developing materials for ballistic protection, considerably less has been conducted to address non-firearm threats. Even fewer studies have examined the incorporation of particle-laden elastomers with textiles for spike, knife, and needle protection. We report on a new composite consisting of ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) fabric impregnated with nanoparticle-loaded elastomer, specifically designed for spike- and needle-resistant garments. Failure analysis and parametric studies of particle-loading and layer-count were conducted using a mixture of SiC and polyurethane at 0, 30, and 50 wt.%. The maximum penetration resistance force of a single-layer of uncoated fabric increased up to 218–229% due to nanoparticle loading. Multiple-layer stacks of coated fabric show up to 57% and 346% improvement in spike puncture and hypodermic needle resistance, respectively, and yet were more flexible and 21–55% thinner than a multiple-layer stack of neat fabric (of comparable areal density). We show that oxygen-plasma-treatment of UHMWPE is critical to enable effective coating.
Highlights
In many countries around the world, non-firearm weapons have been associated with the dominant fraction of violent crimes
The top row shows the spike penetration of a 3-layer stack of neat fabric and the bottom row shows the same penetration spike penetration of a 3-layer stack of neat fabric and the bottom row shows the same penetration test on a 2-layer stack of oxygen-plasma-treated coated fabric of test on a 2-layer stack of oxygen-plasma-treated coated fabric of a comparable areal density
Spike puncture tests performed on coated fabric show a significantly higher resistance than neat fabric and the resistance increased with increase in silicon carbide (SiC) content
Summary
In many countries around the world, non-firearm weapons have been associated with the dominant fraction of violent crimes. It was shown that high density polyethylene (HDPE) fabric impregnated with a mixture of heavily-loaded silica and SiC nano-sized particles (65 wt.% and 80 wt.%) in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) mixture provides up to 190% increase in normalized penetration resistance force to 21G hypodermic needles when it was compared to the neat fabric. We show that oxygen plasma-treatment is an effective method for impregnating the nanoparticle elastomer material into UHMWPE fabrics Using this method, we demonstrate for the first time new textile composites that have superior spike and needle puncture resistance and study the influence on the composition of these composites on the resistance conferred. Our developed formulation and coating method has a good potential to be applied to protective garments or gloves
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