Numerical analysis of fabric armor under ballistic impact

Abstract

A major objective of this investigation is to establish a numerical model of fabric that incorporates greater geometrical detail of the woven structure, a material constitutive model and failure criterion validated by experimental tests, and an efficient computational algorithm. Numerical schemes to model yarn crimp and undulation, sliding and friction at yarn crossover points in fabrics are implemented. Experiments are undertaken to characterize the dynamic properties of yarns at different strain rates. A Zener constitutive model is used to capture strain rate sensitivity of the material and a material failure criterion is also determined from experiments. The fabric model developed is employed in a parametric study on the effects of boundary conditions, and high-speed ballistic tests are carried out to validate the computational results.