Effect of Fibre Type and Fabric Structure on Composite Materials Under Ballistic Shock Impact

This study analysed the effect of fibre type and fabric structure on the behaviour of aramid and ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMW PE) composite plates under ballistic shock loading. A specific test system that simulates a ballistic shock wave was prepared in this context. Aramid composite plates are reinforced with three types of fabric structure, while UHMW PE composite plates are reinforced with a single fabric structure. The plates were cured in an autoclave. The ballistic explosion behaviour of composite plates was evaluated in terms of trauma depth, trauma diameter and absorbed energy at the ballistic limit. The results of the ballistics tests showed that GS3000-reinforced composites demonstrated the highest energy absorption. In contrast, UHMW PE composite plates exhibited higher ballistic energy absorption on a unit-weight basis than other plates. UHMW PE fabric-reinforced composites showed approximately 30% higher energy absorption per unit area density than other composites. Biaxial aramid fabric composite plates exhibited 10% higher energy absorption per unit area density than woven aramid fabric composite plates. Additionally, UD-aramid GS3000 reinforced composite demonstrated the lowest trauma depth of all tested composites, showing 90% less trauma depth than UHMW PE fabric-reinforced composites.