Failure analysis of high-performance woven fabrics during quasistatic stabbing

Abstract

In recent years, stab protection is getting increasing attention from the researchers and practitioners. Most of the stab protective vests are made of high-performance fibre based woven fabrics. However, unlike ballistic protection, the roles of fibre material, fabric structure, and test parameters on the failure mechanism during stabbing are still not well-understood. This study systematically examines the effects of fibre type, weave architecture and stabbing direction on the quasistatic stab resistance of woven fabrics. P-aramid (Kevlar®), aromatic polyester (Vectran®), and ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (Spectra®) fibres were used to weave plain, 3/1 twill, and 2/2 twill fabrics of same areal density. All the fabrics were tested in warp, weft and bias directions using a P1 knife (NIJ 0115.0 standard). Among the fibres, Spectra® demonstrated the highest stab resistance followed by Vectran®. Plain woven fabric showed higher stab resistance than the other two weaves in bias direction. For all weaves, stab resistance was also found to be higher in bias direction followed by weft and warp. Statistical analysis (three-way ANOVA) revealed that fibre type, weave architecture and stabbing direction have significant roles (p < 0.05) in determining the stab resistance of woven fabrics. The outcome of this research will be useful for designing stab resistant vest using high-performance woven fabrics.