Mitigating the Blunt Trauma of Soft Armour Panels using Polycarbonate Sheets: A Cost-effective Solution

Abstract

Reduction of back face signature (BFS) or blunt trauma of soft armour panel (SAP) is one of the major aspects of armour design. This research explores the use of stiff polymeric materials (polycarbonate or PC sheet) to mitigate the BFS of hybrid SAPs. Two sets of SAPs were prepared—the first set comprising of para-aramid based woven fabrics and UD laminates and the second, of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) UD laminates. The areal density of all the panels was within the range of 4.7 ± 0.3 kg m−2. The ballistic performance of SAPs was evaluated in terms of BFS and perforation ratio against a 9 mm × 19 mm lead core bullet fired at 430 m s−1 velocity. The BFS of SAPs reduced when PC sheets were used as backing materials, with a maximum improvement of 27.5% noticed in case of the SAP made from woven para-aramid fabrics. PC sheets were able to replace up to 41% of the high-performance materials thereby reducing the materials cost of armour significantly (38%). The outcome of this research opens up possibilities to replace costly high-performance fabrics with low-cost materials while improving the ballistic performance of SAPs.