JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #79 - March 2013 - 96

fabric
References

Fig. 11: Type A hybrid panels and depth of backface signature

in the large samples, so that more energy is absorbed by the
fabric panels.
The comparison between Type A and Type B panels based on
the experimental investigation is illustrated in Figure 12. It is
evident that Type A panels featuring woven fabric layers on the
impact face give better values in backface signature than Type B
panel.

Conclusions
This paper analysed the engineering of 2D and 3D fabrics for
ballistic protection aiming at improving the ballistic performance of fabrics and fabric panels. It puts forward a new
concept for ballistic fabric construction which involves fabrics
with material continuity and more effective yarn gripping in
the fabric. This is in line with the previous research on interyarn friction. Different types of fabrics with enhanced yarn
gripping and fabric continuity were engineered, manufactured,
and evaluated experimentally and numerically. The new fabrics
demonstrated better performance in terms of penetration and
trauma. The 2D fabrics with enhanced gripping caused most
energy loss to the impacting projectile. The research was also
extended to the construction of 3D fabric panels for ballistic
protection. This paper analysed panel formation using different
types of layer materials and by angle-layering the fabric. In the
latter case, the research showed that the angle-layering improved the extent of isotropy of the panel and caused higher energy
absorption. The study on the hybrid design of panels showed it
was possible to use fabrics with different structures in order to
achieve improved performance of the ballistic panel. n
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank the UK MOD for research grants RT/
COM/5/030 and RT/COM/5/073, the EPSRC and UK MOD for
research grant EP/G042829/1. We are also grateful to DSM for
providing Dyneema fibre and UD fabric.

96 jec composites magazine / No79 March 2013

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More information:
www.manchester.ac.uk
Contact: xiaogang.chen@manchester.ac.uk

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