The Effects of Projectile Geometry on the Performance of Ballistic Fabrics

Abstract

A ballistic laboratory was designed and built to accommodate the impact of . Kevlar® woven fabric of varying ply levels, while manipulating the geometrical shape, weight, and impact velocity of the projectile. A chronograph system was used to measure the striking and residual velocities of the missile. Empirical relations were determined between the experimental data and the quantity 1/√L, where L is the ogive length of the projectile. This quantity was found to be useful in characterizing projectile geometrical effects on the impact performance of woven fabric systems. The effects of projectile shape on the number of fabric plies, velocity loss data, and thus V50 values are characterized by the empirical relations.

Effect of reinforcement type on high velocity impact response of GRP plates using a sharp tip projectile

“…They assert that projectile nose geometry's effect diminishes with increasing thickness. This was also reported earlier by Montgomery et al [16]. Gellert et al [17] conducted ballistic impact experimental studies on woven fabric E-glass/vinylester composites with target thickness of 19, 14.5 and 9 mm using 3.84 g and 3.33 g cylindrical, blunt head steel projectiles with 6.35 mm diameter.…”

Inconsistency in 9mm bullets: Correlation of jacket thickness to post-impact geometry measured with non-destructive X-ray computed tomography

“…Such models would be difficult to validate in the absence of a reliable method to measure jacket thickness variations nondestructively, both before and after impact. Present analytical models [3], [4], [5], [6], [7] and [8] consider only the gross geometry of bullets and make unjustified assumptions about the consistency and symmetry of the projectile and its casing. As such, a robust way to test correlation between ballistic performance and jacket thickness variation is desirable for the development of accurate numerical simulations.…”

Ballistic and impact protection finishes for textiles

“…nonwoven, woven, knitted), type of weave, thickness of the fabric, number of fabric plies (Cunniff, 1992 ;Chitrangad, 1993 ;Karahan et al ., 2008 ), interconnection between fabric layers, boundary conditions (Lee et al ., 1994(Lee et al ., , 2001Zeng et al ., 2005 ). • Properties of impacted materials : Projectiles, puncture or cutting materials; projectile shape (Lim et al ., 2002 ;Tan et al ., 2003 ); projectile mass (Montgomery et al ., 1982 ;Bazhenov, 1997 ;Tan et al ., 2003 ). • Parameters related to the impact : Impact velocity, angle of impact, interfacial friction between projectile and fabric (Briscoe and Motamedi, 1992 ).…”