Home // SIMUL 2018, The Tenth International Conference on Advances in System Simulation // View article
Authors:
Arash Ramezani
Hendrik Rothe
Keywords: hydrocode analysis; thermal softening; fiber-reinforced plastics; optimization; armor systems; ballistic trials
Abstract:
In the security sector, the partly insufficient safety of people and equipment due to failure of industrial components is an ongoing problem that causes great concern. Since computers and software have spread into all fields of industry, extensive efforts are currently made to improve the safety by applying certain numerical solutions. A fibre-reinforced composite is a promising material for ballistic protection due to its high strength, stiffness and low density. Para-aramid fibre was introduced into the market in the 1970s. These fibres are five times stronger than steel. In more recent years, Ultra-High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMW-PE) fibre has been used in ballistic application owing to certain property advantages. UHMW-PE composites as part of the personal armour system have the potential to provide significant weight savings or improved protection levels over traditional metallic materials. Although already used in different applications, both as spall liners and within complex multi-element/multi-material packages, there is a limited understanding of the mechanisms driving ballistic performance. Existing analysis tools do not allow a good approximation of performance, while existing numerical models are either incapable of accurately capturing the response of thick UHMW-PE composite to ballistic impact or are unsuited to model thick targets. In response, this paper aims to identify the key penetration and failure mechanisms of thick UHMW-PE composites under ballistic impact and develop numerical models that capture these mechanisms and allow accurate prediction of ballistic performance to optimize modern armour systems. An important aspect of impact loading of polyethylene-based composites is their propensity to thermally soften or even melt during a collision due to shock heating. Consequently, this needs to be taken into account in both analytical and computational models. The motivation of this work was to develop a thermal softening model and investigate the effects on existing simulation models.
Pages: 6 to 16
Copyright: Copyright (c) IARIA, 2018
Publication date: October 14, 2018
Published in: conference
ISSN: 2308-4537
ISBN: 978-1-61208-672-9
Location: Nice, France
Dates: from October 14, 2018 to October 18, 2018