A Ballistic Material Model for Cross-Plied Unidirectional Ultra-High Molecular-Weight Polyethylene Fiber-Reinforced Armor-Grade Composites

Abstract

The known fiber and polymeric-matrix material properties, unit-cell microstructural characteristics and unit-cell level finite-element analyses are used to construct a new ballistic material model for 0 deg/90 deg crossplied oriented polyethylene fiber-based armor-grade composite laminates. The model is constructed in such away that it can be readily integrated into commercial finite-element programs like ANSYS/Autodyn [ANSYS/Autodyn version 11.0, User Documentation, Century Dynamics Inc., a subsidiary of ANSYS Inc., 2007] and ABAQUS/Explicit [ABAQUS version 6.7, User Documentation, Dessault Systems, 2007] as a user material subroutine. To validate the model, a series of transient non-linear dynamics simulations of the transverse impact of armor-grade composite laminates with two types of bullets/projectiles is carried out. The results obtained are next compared with their experimental counterparts. This comparison revealed that a relatively good agreement is obtained between the experimental and the computational analysis relative to: (a) the success of the armor panels of different areal densities in defeating the bullets at different initial bullet velocities; (b) post-mortem spatial distribution of damage within the panels; (c) the temporal evolution of a bulge at the back-face of the armor; and (d) the existence of three distinct armor-penetration stages (i.e. an initial filament shearing/cutting dominated stage, an intermediate stage characterized by pronounced filament/matrix de-bonding/decohesion and the final stage associated with the extensive bulging of the armor panel).

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2008
Accession Number
ADA588416

Entities

People

  • Brian T. Scott
  • Bryan A. Cheeseman
  • C.‐F. Yen
  • G. Arakere
  • Mica Grujicic
  • Temple He
  • W. C. Bell

Organizations

  • Clemson University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Human Systems
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Biomedical And Dental Materials
  • Composite Materials
  • Failure Mode And Effect Analysis
  • Fiber Reinforced Composites
  • Finite Element Analysis
  • Laminates
  • Materials
  • Materials Laboratories
  • Materials Processing
  • Materials Science
  • Mechanical Properties
  • Mechanical Working
  • Modulus Of Elasticity
  • Polyethylenes
  • Resins
  • Spatial Distribution
  • Stiffness

Readers

  • Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)
  • Reinforced Composite Materials
  • Structural Health Monitoring of Composite Structures.