(4115)EFFECTS OF FABRIC TARGET SIZE, SHAPE, AND CLAMPING ON THE V50 BALLISTIC IMPACT PERFORMANCE OF ARAMID SOFT BODY ARMOR

摘要

The V50 probabilistic impact performance of non-backed aramid fabrics used in soft body armor is studied using several clamping configurations including 4-sided, 2-sided, circular, diamond, and corner-clamped frames. For a constant fabric target size, the V50 velocity was found to be sensitive to the exposed fabric shape and clamping configuration. The impact response was also sensitive to the precise projectile impact location which varied between impacts occurring directly on a yarn and at the inter-yarn gap. Corner-plate clamped fabrics showed tearing at the sharp corners while corner-point clamped fabrics showed distinct fabric deformation and failure mechanisms over various projectile velocity regimes. In addition, the effects of fabric target size on the V50 velocity was studied by considering 4-sided, diamond, and circular clamped fabrics of various exposed areas. A logarithmic function well described this relationship for all three shapes considered with the 4-sided clamped fabrics showing poorer relative V50 impact performance than the circular and diamond clamped fabrics as the target size increased. This study importantly demonstrates that it is not just the intrinsic system parameters such as the fabric geometry, material, and architecture that govern its ballistic impact performance, but also extrinsic parameters such as the impact testing methodology. This is an important consideration when assessing or comparing the ballistic impact performance of various fabric armors.