Soldier protection materials are highly advanced and robust, however, there is an ever-present need for greater levels of ballistic mass efficiency and the reduction of back face deformation (BFD) generated by ballistic impact events. Ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE)-based composite fiber systems have been the state of the art for Soldier protection in the past decade, and has been used in everything from ballistic helmets, soft armor, and backing materials for ceramic torso protection. A significant amount of research in the literature has provided insight toward the effect of interfaces and delamination on the ballistic performance of UHMWPE composites. Many of these recent experiments all conclude that the delamination and interfacial properties drive the performance of the composite, almost if not more than the mechanical properties of the ballistic fiber material. Experiments at the Army Research Laboratory (ARL) have demonstrated the potential benefits of employing hybridized UHMWPE composite materials for ballistic modification. In this research effort, we characterized the ballistic efficiency, including penetration resistance and back face deformation (BFD) of 1) high-performance 2D UHMWPE tape-based and ID UHMWPE composite fiber laminates, and 2) 2D/1D composite laminate hybrids, in which curious impact mechanisms have been observed in previous studies. Ballistic experiments revealed that while the high-tenacity 2D UHMWPE tape composite specimens yielded high ballistic efficiency, the mixture of ID and 2D material mechanisms in addition to enabling the mechanism of pre-delamination in the 2D/1D hybrid composite systems led to improved energy absorption and lower levels of back face deformation (BFD), as much as 42.3% compared to the 2D tape monolithic panel. Digital image correlation (DIC) and computed tomography (CT) were employed in an attempt to highlight the mechanism for the hybridized composite laminate.
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