High strain rate behavior of STF-treated UHMWPE composites

 The high strain rate impact performance of STF-treated Gold shield  UHMWPE composite is experimentally investigated on in-house designed and fabricated SHPB apparatus.

A B S T R A C T Shear thickening fluids (STFs) are a special class of field responsive non-Newtonian fluids which exhibit transition from low viscosity to high viscosity state when these are subjected to shear deformation, particularly when the shear rate exceeds a critical value termed as the critical shear rate (CSR). Due to this unique characteristic of STFs, these are generally used for vibration mitigation or shock absorbance such as in vibration dampeners, hip protection pads, in protective gear for athletes etc. From the last two decades, STFs have found application in the field of ballistics, particularly in the development of special class of STF-intercalated armours called Liquid Body Armours (LBAs). These new age armours are lighter in weight and more flexible as compared to conventional heavy armours, which, infact seriously affect the mobility and agility of the soldier, especially in combat situations. Although, exhaustive studies are available which show the improvement in impact resistance of STF-treated high performance fabrics, but there are limited studies which explore the efficacy of STF treatment method. In this study, an attempt is made to understand this aspect. The low velocity impact studies were conducted on drop tower machine, while high velocity impact studies were accomplished on in-house designed and fabricated Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar (SHPB) experimental setup. It was observed that when STF was kept in liquid form between layers of ballistic fabrics, the composite exhibited reduced performance, whereas, STF-treated ballisic composites exhibited enhanced impact toughness at high strain rates in SHPB testing.

Modern and sophisticated ammunition systems have necessitated the development of advanced ballistic protection personal armour systems that are damage resistant, flexible, lightweight and possess high energy absorbing/dissipating capacity. Although, exhaustive studies are available which show the improvement in impact resistance of STF-treated high performance fabrics, but there are limited studies which explore the efficacy of STF impregnation method. In this study, an attempt is made to understand this aspect. The low velocity impact studies were conducted on drop tower machine, while high velocity impact studies were accomplished on Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar (SHPB). High impact Poly Propylene Co-polymer (CO15EG) and UHMWPE variants Gold Shield ® and Spectra Shield were chosen for this study. It was observed that when STF was kept in liquid form between layers of ballistic fabrics, the composite exhibited reduced performance, whereas, when STF was impregnated in a ballistic fabric it had a synergistic effect to enhance the impact toughness of ballistic composite.

WIT Transactions on the Built Environment, 2014

Ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) has a high potential for ballistic armor applications due to the excellent weight specific strength inherent to this type of material. In this paper, a non-linear orthotropic material model for the UHMWPE, based on the product DYNEEMA ® HB26, is used for assessing the influence of the material properties on the ballistic performance. The model, implemented in the commercial hydrocode ANSYS AUTODYN uses initially linear-orthotropic elasticity, subsequent non-linear strain hardening, multiple stress-based composite failure criteria and post-failure softening. The strength model is coupled with a polynomial equation of state. An experimentally supported material data set for UHMWPE, presented before, is used as a baseline for the numerical studies on high velocity impact. Parameter sensitivities are studied for these impact situations. The numerical predictions are compared to available experimental data over a wide range of impact velocities (1 km/s up to 6 km/s). The objective of this paper is to assess the influence of different material parameters on the predictive capability of high velocity impact simulations and subsequently provide guidelines for the required experimental characterization of UHMWPE under shock loading.

Momona Ethiopian Journal of Science

As a major challenge, development of lightweight fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) composite body armour, characterization of candidate matrix polymers at high strain rate impact is the focus in this research. Polypropylene (PP) and the nano-composites with 1-5% by weight of NC (nanoclay) platelets are the candidates considered. In the characterization phase, high strain rate impact and quasi-static loading tests were performed to figure out the limiting (failure) responses. Comparison between the material systems is, subsequently, made to nominate one matrix configuration. Enhancements of mechanical properties with increase in weight percentage of the nanoparticles are observed at both quasi-static and dynamic loadings. Observations of dispersed imposed failure modes, development of novel model for failure modulus and evaluation of peak strength values are also attempted.

Composites Part B-engineering, 2018

For the first time, the influence of the manufacturing process on the dynamic performance of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE, Dyneema ® HB26) composites is investigated. The material is significantly influenced by the hot-pressing parameters temperature and pressure. The ballistic resistance and shock wave behavior was characterized for the UHMWPE composite consolidated with three different pressures. In the case of UHMWPE composites, higher consolidation pressures result in a better ballistic performance. The shock wave behavior converges to high-density polyethylene (HDPE). Based on these observations, an analytical approach is proposed describing the equation of state as a function of consolidation pressure.

Macromolecular Materials and Engineering, 2010

Fibres and Textiles in Eastern Europe, 2015

The most popular method to produce composites for ballistic applications is to use aramid and ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) fibers as reinforcement materials in different matrices. The composite materials used in this type of application, especially those used as armoring materials for explosions, are subjected to a very high level of energy. In this study, the effect of the reinforcement material type and cross-plied condition of reinforcement were examined using high-level impact tests. The impact tests were performed at low speed but high energy, and thus the behaviour of the composite materials that were exposed to high-level impact energy could be examined. According to the results, the UD aramid composite produced the best results with respect to high-level impact tests. In addition, mass optimisation could be achieved without the loss of the high-level impact energy by preparing a hybrid composite with UD UHMWPE and UD aramid fibers.

Materials Research

The response to ballistic impact of alumina-ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) composites with different relative concentrations of alumina was investigated. The impact tests were carried out at subsonic speed using a compressed air system. The results showed that the depth of penetration (DOP) in a Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF) bulkhead protected by a disk of the composite decreased with increasing concentration of alumina in the composite. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of composites with 80 %, 85 % and 95 % alumina showed transgranular, intergranular and ductile fracture mechanisms.

2011

Advanced polymeric materials and polymer based nanocomposites are finding an increasing range of industrial and defence applications. These materials have the potential to improve combat survivability, whilst reducing cost and weight. This study deals with nanocomposites manufactured from blends of low density polyethylene (LDPE) with various nanofillers. The high strain rate behaviour of these materials was investigated using the split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) test. The experimental results for non-reinforced materials were used as a reference to analyse the effect of the nanofillers on the properties and performance of the nanocomposites. These results, together with those obtained from other mechanical tests, will be used as input into finite-element analyses to simulate the performance of these materials in lightweight armour applications. In the first step, the finite element model was validated by simulating the SHPB test and comparing the predicted results with those from the experiments. Explicit finite element analysis was used for the simulation. The fully developed model was able to demonstrate the behaviour of the test bar and specimen interaction correctly and reasonably good agreement between predicted and experimental results was observed.