Abstract
The excellent mechanical property and light weight of protective materials are vital for practical application in body armor. In this study, O2-plasma-modified multi-walled carbon nanotubes (M-MWNTs) were introduced into shear-thickening fluid (STF)-impregnated Kevlar woven fabrics to increase the quasi-static stab resistance and decrease the composite weight. The rheological test showed that the addition of 0.06 wt. % M-MWNT caused a marked increase in the peak viscosity from 1563 to 3417 pa·s and a decrease in the critical shear rate from 14.68 s−1 to 2.53 s−1. The storage modulus (G′) and loss modulus (G″) showed a higher degree of abrupt increase with the increase of shear stress. The yarn pull-out test showed that the yarn friction of M-MWNT/STF/Kevlar fabrics was far superior to the original fabrics. Importantly, under similar areal density, the M-MWNT/STF/Kevlar fabrics could resist 1261.4 N quasi-static stab force and absorb 41.3 J energy, which were much higher than neat Kevlar fabrics. The results of this research indicated that quasi-static stab resistance was improved by M-MWNTs, which was attributed to the excellent shear-thickening effect and the high yarn friction. Therefore, M-MWNT/STF/Kevlar fabrics have a broad prospect in the fields of body protection.
Highlights
Humans have been using various forms of body armor to protect themselves from dangerous weapons in the wake of rising terrorism and regional conflicts globally [1].in many countries, the restrictions on gun ownership have led to increasing knife attacks [2].an increasing number of researchers are focusing on improving the stab resistance of materials [3,4]
We present a novel composite based on Kevlar and shear-thickening fluid (STF)-containing
The Raman spectra showed that the oxygen-containing functional groups were grafted onto the MWNTs’ sidewalls and ends, which improved the dispersibility of MWNTs in STF
Summary
Humans have been using various forms of body armor to protect themselves from dangerous weapons in the wake of rising terrorism and regional conflicts globally [1]. High-performance woven fabrics such as aramid (e.g., Kevlar® and Twaron® ), and ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (e.g., Spectra® and Dyneema® ) are widely used in the field of stab-resistant body armor. These are high-strength, high-modulus, high-tenacity fabrics, which can provide protection for users [5]. STF is a specific type of non-Newtonian fluid whose viscosity increases dramatically once the external shear rate or applied loading is beyond a critical value [9,10]. A study on the effect of O2 -plasma-modified MWNTs on the rheological behavior of concentrated colloidal dispersions and quasi-static stab resistance performance is still quite limited.
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