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An instrumented experimental study of the ballistic response of textile materials

University of British Columbia

This work describes an instrumented experimental investigation of the energy absorption of Kevlar® fabric under ballistic impact. A continuous measurement technique, the UBC Enhanced Laser Velocity System (ELVS), has been successfully used in ballistic impact experiments. The results of this measurement technique are combined with results of a discrete technique, high speed photography, yielding more detailed information about the impact event. A combined local and global deformation response is shown to exist in fabrics when impacted ballistically. The global response involves the overall global deformation of the fabric as a pyramid, and is responsible for absorbing most of the projectile energy. The local response involves the local deformation of the material in the vicinity of the projectile tip, and dictates when local failure, i.e. perforation, of the material will occur. The maximum global response is a function of the local mechanism. A simple mathematical model has been presented and is used to predict the total energy absorption of the target, as well as the distribution of this energy into both kinetic and strain energy components. The model is shown to be a good first approximation of the experimental results.

Thesis/Dissertation

application/pdf

2009-05-19

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http://hdl.handle.net/2429/7945

Materials Engineering

University of British Columbia

UBCV

DSpace