Ballistic Performance Evaluation of High-Performance Fabric Due to Interyarn Friction

Abstract

This paper discusses the novel multimaterial arbitrary-Lagrange-Euler (MM-ALE) based approach for modeling shear-thickening fluid (STF)–treated fabric under ballistic impact. The friction-based model of fabric implements the effect of interyarn friction on the ballistic performance of the neat and STF-treated fabric. Furthermore, this paper presents the limitations of friction-based modeling of STF-treated fabric under a wide range of projectile velocities. Such a limitation is the exact prediction of interyarn coefficients of friction for STF-treated fabric for the complex phenomenon of ballistic impact. The results obtained from the friction-based model for the ranges of interyarn coefficients and fabric sett showed that there is an enhancement in the ballistic performance due to an increase in the coefficient of friction up to a critical value of friction coefficients. It was observed that beyond the critical level, there was no improvement in the ballistic performance of the fabric. However, there was a decrease in the ballistic performance beyond the critical friction level. Moreover, the numerical model of neat fabric using friction-based models as validated and implemented in the development of MM-ALE-based modeling of STF-treated fabric. The novel MM-ALE-based modeling approach will enrich the understanding of the STF mechanism under ballistic impact for STF-treated fabric systems. The limitations of friction-based models shall be handled using the MM-ALE based technique.