Production of woven aramid based protective equipment and improving its ballistic performance

Abstract

In this study, various ballistic armour materials were designed using aramid fibre fabrics. Initially, soft armour designs were tested according to NIJ 0101.03 Level II standards across different configurations. However, the trauma depths observed in these tests exceeded the acceptable limits defined by the standards. To address this, a hard armour design was developed by incorporating reinforcement elements, such as silicon dioxide, graphene nanoplatelets, multi-walled carbon nanotubes, and Ti3AlC2 (MAX phases) powders, into the aramid fabrics. These reinforcements were mixed with vinylester resin at concentrations of 3%, 5%, and 10%. The resulting mixture was impregnated into 25-layer aramid fabrics arranged in different orientations to produce composite plates. Ballistic tests were conducted on these plates in accordance with NIJ 0101.03 Level III standards. The tests revealed that the hybrid composite structure absorbed a substantial amount of energy, particularly in the central region of the plates. Plates reinforced with graphene nanoplatelets exhibited penetration under ballistic testing, but an improvement in ballistic performance was observed as the reinforcement density increased. Among all reinforcements, the best ballistic performance was achieved with Ti3AlC2(MAX phase) additives. As a result, prototype designs with enhanced protection levels and improved ballistic performance were successfully produced.