DEEP DRAWING MODEL AND EXPERIMENT OF FIBER-REINFORCED COMPOSITES IN HELMET MANUFACTURING

Abstract

The deep drawing process is recently used for industrial manufacturing of ballistic helmets. With recent technology advancements, high-strength-to-weight ratio materials such as ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) reinforced fibers in the form of composite laminates are utilized for the forming of such ballistic helmets. In this work, an explicit finite element (FE) analysis of the deep drawing process of a composite helmet from multiple sheets of cross-ply UHMWPE material (Dyneema® HB26) is presented. The ABAQUS FE model uses 4-node double curved, thin shell explicit elements. Numerical results were compared with experimental data such as sectional thickness and shear angles at different parts of the deep drawn helmet to validate the model. It is demonstrated that results of the model, when compared to the deformed shaped of the composite ballistic helmet, can also aid in the prediction of the distribution of wrinkles areas to a reasonable extent.