Effect of replacement strike-face material on the ballistic performance of multi-ply soft armor targets. Issue 5 (March 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Guo, Zherui; Chen, Weinong; Zheng, James
• Is Part Of: Textile research journal. Volume 89:Issue 5(2019)
• Page Start: 711
• Page End: 725
• Publication Date: 2019-03
• Subjects: ballistic limit -- soft armor -- high-performance fabric -- shear strength -- strike face; Textile industry -- Periodicals; Textile fabrics -- Periodicals; Textile research -- Periodicals; Textiles et tissus -- Industrie et commerce -- Périodiques; Textiles et tissus -- Périodiques; Textiles et tissus -- Recherche -- Périodiques; Electronic journals; 677.005
• DOI: 10.1177/0040517517753641
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0040-5175

Abstract

In this study, the impact-face material of a multi-ply soft armor system was varied to different ratios and tested for the effects on the ballistic performance. It is known that the first few layers of multi-ply soft armor material typically fail inelastically near the system ballistic limit and can be replaced with a "sacrificial" material with other more desirable properties. Previous studies have determined that the ballistic performance of these hybrid systems is largely dependent on the amount of high-performance backing material. However, the extent to which the high-performance fabric can be replaced has yet to be fully quantified and examined. Materials of different properties, namely stainless steel mesh, Makrolon® polycarbonate sheets, and cotton, were used as replacement frontal material for 840 d Twaron® panels, and the hybrid panels were impacted by O1 tool steel right-circular cylinder projectiles fired using a single-stage smooth-bore gas gun. Results show that the ballistic performance is maintained up to a frontal material ratio of about 40%, and off-axis material properties play a role in energy dissipation.