Puncture resistance behaviors and efficiencies of angle-interlock fabrics impregnated with shear thickening fluids

Abstract

STFs impregnation is an effective method to prepare impact resistance fabrics without sacrificing their flexibility, and the structural features are essential factors affecting the puncture resistance behaviors of these fabrics. Since few studies focus on the quasi-static puncture resistance of 3D woven fabrics and their STFs-based composites, we developed a strategy to evaluate the anti-puncture efficiencies and established models to predict the puncture resistance characteristics of materials. The results show a significant linear relationship between the puncture resistance and layer numbers, and the maximum puncture force and energy dissipation could reach 1284.58 N and 7.22 J for the five-layer angle-interlock fabric after STFs impregnation. Given the inter-yarn slippage restriction by STFs, the maximum puncture force of the fabric with an FVF of 49.47% increases 132.84% after STFs treatment, but the anti-puncture efficiencies of fabrics, whose FVF is higher than 53.4%, drop more than 10% after impregnation. The layer-to-layer interweaving improves fabric's anti-puncture efficiency, but the overlarge binding warp inclination is detrimental to the mechanical usage of yarns and the maintenance of the compact structure.