The effect of a carbon-nanotube forest-mat strike face on the ballistic-protection performance of E-glass reinforced poly-vinyl-ester-epoxy composite armour

In the present work, a ballistic material-model development approach is combined with transient non-linear dynamics simulations of the projectile/armour interactions to explore the armour-hard-facing potential of multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) reinforced, poly-vinyl-ester-epoxy (PVEE)-matrix c...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Part L, Journal of materials, design and applications Journal of materials, design and applications, 2008-01, Vol.222 (1), p.15-28
Main Authors: Grujicic, M, Bell, W C, Biggers, S B, Koudela, K L, Tarter, J F, Cheeseman, B A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Armor
Armored vehicles
Ballistics
Carbon
Composite materials
Fiberglass
Mechanical properties
Nanotubes
Polymers
Studies
Vehicles
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Summary:In the present work, a ballistic material-model development approach is combined with transient non-linear dynamics simulations of the projectile/armour interactions to explore the armour-hard-facing potential of multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) reinforced, poly-vinyl-ester-epoxy (PVEE)-matrix composite mats. This approach is applied to improving the ballistic-protection performance of E-glass fibre-mat reinforced PVEE-matrix laminate armour. Two different architectures of the MWCNT-reinforced/PVEE-matrix composite mats were considered: (a) a MWCNT-ply mat structure in which the MWCNT reinforcements are aligned parallel to the armour faces and (b) a MWCNT-forest mat structure in which the MWCNT reinforcements are aligned orthogonally to the armour faces. The projectile/armour interaction simulation results showed that, at low volume fractions of MWCNTs, both armour architectures yield no discernable increase in the armour ballistic-protection performance as measured by the armour. On the other hand, at high MWCNT volume fractions of MWCNTs, the first armour architecture remained ineffective whereas the second showed a minor improvement in the ballistic-protection performance relative to the corresponding monolithic armour. These results were rationalized using published experimental observations pertaining to the effect of MWCNTs on the in-plane and the through-the-thickness properties of fibre-mat/polymer-matrix composite materials.
ISSN:1464-4207
2041-3076
DOI:10.1243/14644207JMDA136