Development of High Energy Dissipation Composite System Utilizing Shear Thickening Materials

Abstract

In this research, novel impact energy dissipation composite system which utilizes shear thickening materials is developed and explored. With the aim of reduction non-perforating behind armor injuries, flexible impact energy dissipation system using cornstarch-water suspension as the shear thickening fluids (STF) were fabricated and tested. The performance of impact resistance was investigated in terms of penetration depths in clay backings placed behind the STF. The ballistic impact response of a composite system which utilized shear thickening fluid was studied. The tests suggested that the combination of the composite layers and shear thickening fluids resulted in greater impact energy dissipation. It was also shown that developed STF-fabric pad is effective in reducing blunt trauma. Thereafter, a new shear thickening material was introduced and a shear thickening polymer (STP)-fabric composite pad was developed. The effectiveness of the STP with different composite layers was studied. Results show that the STP is most effective in reducing blunt trauma when used in conjunction with armor fabric due to the interaction between both materials. The 6 mm thick STP-fabric composite pad was found to reduce blunt trauma by 25% when placed behind flexible body armor. The effect of adding epoxy treated layers in fabric systems is also investigated. Results show that the addition of epoxy treated layers was effective in reducing blunt trauma. Additionally, the placement of neat layers in front of treated layers in fabric systems was found to be most effective in reducing blunt trauma. This suggests that the stacking sequences of neat and epoxy treated fabric plies are found to be important in improving protective performance, which affected not only the back face signature (BFS) but also the ballistic limit. Finally, the performance of STP-fabric composite pad in hip protection application is explored.