High-velocity projectile impact response of rubber-coated aramid Twaron fabrics

Abstract

The impact response of aramid Twaron CT709 fabrics thinly coated with a commercially available spray-on rubber material has been studied for the first time. Both neat and rubber-coated fabric targets were subjected to impact using 12 mm, 7.05 g spherical steel projectiles. The impact velocities ranged from 150 to 250 m/s. Each target consisted of three plies of neat or coated fabrics. Residual velocities, impact velocities and transverse deformation profiles were recorded using a high-speed camera, and the mechanism of failure and energy absorption were studied. It was observed that the ballistic limit velocity (BLV) increased by 18% in the rubber-coated specimens compared with neat fabric specimens. A critical velocity (Vc) was established below which the coated targets absorbed higher energy than their neat counterparts. The rubber coating was found to promote a membrane effect with global deformation to failure leading to higher energy absorption than the neat counterparts. However, the coated samples absorbed lower energy for impact velocities greater than Vc. At these velocities, the rubber-coated specimens showed localised failure leading to lower energy absorption than the neat counterparts. A novel numerical modelling approach was proposed to simulate coated fabrics, and the models predicted the BLV with high accuracy (error < 4%).