Thin-Walled Structures 179 (2022) 109679

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Thin-Walled Structures
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/tws

Full length article

Development of a Coated Fabric Armour System of Aramid Fibre and Rubber

Dakshitha Weerasinghe a ,∗, M.R. Bambach b , Damith Mohotti a , Hongxu Wang a , Sheng Jiang b ,
Paul J. Hazell a
a School of Engineering and Information Technology, The University of New South Wales, Canberra, ACT 2600, Australia
b
School of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, The University of Sydney, Darlington 2006, New South Wales, Australia

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

Keywords: Ballistic impact tests were conducted on polymer-coated multi-layer fabric targets using 0.357 SIG projectiles.
Armour The effect of fatigue loading on the yarn pull-out force of coated Twaron fabrics was studied for the first
Aramid fibre time. A validated mesoscale numerical modelling approach was developed to simulate the ballistic impact.
Polymeric coating
The elastomeric coating significantly improved impact resistance. The coating is stable in a wide range of
Impact resistance
ambient temperatures and performs well upon being subjected to fatigue. A coated target having 6.6% less
Yarn pull-out
Lightweight materials
areal density and 20% less thickness than its neat counterpart has shown similar ballistic limit velocity.

1. Introduction extensive research on body armour for ballistic performance [6–15]

and stab resistance [16–19]. However, despite extensive research stud-
Conventional soft armour is manufactured by sewing, bonding or ies, STF-reinforced fabrics are still not commercially used in armour
stacking multiple plies of neat woven fabrics. It is evident that in- materials. This is mainly due to the high weight add-on percentage by
creasing the number of fabric plies present in such a composite system STF impregnation, STF’s low resistance against environmental factors
improves the protection level against projectile perforation. In fact, and their temperature-dependent performance. The performance of
in order to defeat commonly used handgun ballistic threats (National
STF-impregnated fabrics is inherently vulnerable at high temperatures
Institute of Justice (NIJ) IIIA), approximately 20–50 plies of neat fabric
since such conditions adversely affect both the critical shear rate and
plies are required [1]. However, with an increasing number of fabric
the peak apparent viscosity [20,21]. Moreover, the preparation and
plies, the protective system’s thickness, bending stiffness, mass, and
cost also increase, causing such systems to be unsuitable for day-to-day impregnation of STF into fabrics involves the usage of sophisticated
use or military activities. This also contradicts the general objectives of equipment, is time-consuming and, consequently, uneconomical from
body armour research, to produce low-cost, lightweight and comfort- a commercial viewpoint. A simpler and more economical means of
able armour systems while preserving superior ballistic performance improving the impact-resistant properties of woven fabrics is required.
against various threat levels [1]. As a remedy, soft armour panels can be Recently, it has been shown that the impact-resistant performance
made lighter in weight by replacing a higher number of neat fabric plies of woven fabrics can be improved using different polymeric coatings.
with a lower number of better performing plies. However, the flexibility Khodadadi et al. [22] reported that rubber-fabric composites exhibit
of the resulting composite armour panel must also be maintained such better impact resistance while epoxy-fabric composites show low im-
that the body movements of the wearer are not overly constricted. pact resistance compared to neat fabrics. Asemani et al. [23] reported
Manufacturing such better performing flexible fabric materials has been that the energy absorption capability of Kevlar aramid fabrics was
the focus of research for decades.
significantly increased using rubber as a matrix material. Moreover,
Impregnating neat woven fabrics with shear thickening fluids (STF)
a macroscale modelling approach was also proposed based on split-
is a relatively new approach to achieving the conflicting objectives
Hopkinson pressure bar tests. Wang et al. [24] reported that flexible
of body armour research: superior ballistic performance coupled with
comfort (lightweight and flexibility) [2–5]. STF instantaneously trans- polyurethane-fabric composites exhibit better impact-resistant proper-
forms itself into a temporary solid state when a high shear rate is ties than their non-flexible counterparts. However, these composite
imparted but returns to its liquid form once the loading is removed. materials also exhibited extremely high weight add-on percentages and
STF-impregnated fabrics have been considered high-potential candi- little to no flexibility due to the methods used in manufacturing. High-
dates for next-generation body armour and have been the subject of performance woven fabrics such as aramid-based Kevlar and Twaron

∗ Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: dakshitha.weerasinghe@unsw.edu.au (D. Weerasinghe), mike.bambach@sydney.edu.au (M.R. Bambach), d.mohotti@unsw.edu.au
(D. Mohotti), hongxu.wang@adfa.edu.au (H. Wang), sheng.jiang@sydney.edu.au (S. Jiang), p.hazell@adfa.edu.au (P.J. Hazell).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tws.2022.109679
Received 6 April 2022; Received in revised form 18 June 2022; Accepted 19 June 2022
Available online 6 July 2022
0263-8231/© 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
D. Weerasinghe, M.R. Bambach, D. Mohotti et al. Thin-Walled Structures 179 (2022) 109679

and UHMWPE-based Dyneema and Spectra are as the reinforcement for Table 1
Specifications of the neat Twaron CT709 aramid fabric used in the present study.
these composites while different materials such as polyurethane, epoxy
Weave type Plain
and rubber act as the matrix materials. The high areal density incre-
Style CT709
ments in these composite panels compared to the neat fabrics is a result Warp 27/in.
Fabric sett
of adding a significantly high amount of additional material. While the Weft 27/in.
impact-resistant properties are improved, these conventionally manu- Areal density 200 g/m2
factured composite panels cannot be used in soft armour applications, Thickness 0.3 mm
Yarn 930 dtex
where thin, lightweight and flexible materials are generally preferred.
On the other hand, Kim et al. [21] reported that woven fabric
impact resistance could be improved by spray coating the fabric with an Table 2
adhesive. It is reported that the Heracron (a meta-aramid) fabric used Composition of the rubberised aerosol material used for coating [27].

in the study exhibited 90% more energy absorption when compared to Chemical name CAS No. Weight %

the neat fabric, and the weight add-on was only 15% since the fabric Toluene 108-88-3 20–30
Aliphatic Petroleum Distillate 8052-41-3 10–20
was only spray-coated (thin coating). Ignatova et al. [25] reported that
Aliphatic Petroleum Solvent 64742-89-8 1–10
the ballistic limit velocity was doubled when Twaron CT709 fabrics Calcium Carbonate 1317-65-3 1–10
were coated with polyvinyl acetate (PVA) on the surface. Moreover, Carbon Black 1333-86-4 1–5
it was also reported that the back face signature (BFS) was reduced Liquefied Petroleum Gas 68476-85-7 20–40
by threefold. A thin PVA coating was applied on the fabric surface
using a special spatula. In contrast to STF-impregnated fabrics, the
weight add-on percentage was reported to be less than 6%. Therefore, 2.1.2. Rubber material
coating woven fabrics with different materials as thin coatings has the The coating material used in the present work is a flexible, rub-
potential to improve their impact resistance while introducing minimal berised aerosol (FlexSeal, BIG W Australia). The product sprays onto
additions to areal density as well as flexural rigidity. Techniques such surfaces as a viscous liquid and takes approximately two hours to dry
as spray coating a woven fabric introduce only a minimal amount of and twenty four hours to cure fully. The coating is thermally stable in
matrix materials and, therefore, have the potential to improve impact temperatures ranging from −28.8 ◦ C to 60 ◦ C [27,28]. The composition
resistance while maintaining high flexibility and low areal density, in of the rubberised aerosol material is given in Table 2.
contrast to conventional fabric-resin composite manufacturing meth- Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric
ods. This is extremely attractive for the development of lightweight and analysis (TGA) tests were performed on the rubber material used in
comfortable soft armour due to its low cost and ease of implementation. the present work. The spray can was opened to pour the liquid into
The usage of rubber as a thin coating on fabrics in impact-resistant a rectangular mould to obtain an approximately 2-3-mm thick sheet.
applications has not been studied comprehensively, and this constitutes Subsequently, an approximately 5-mm diameter specimen was used to
obtain the DSC and TGA data using an STA 449 F5 Jupiter® machine.
the main premise for the present study. Furthermore, the complexity
DSC scan was made from −100 ◦ C to 300 ◦ C at a heating rate of
of destructive and high-speed testing makes it challenging to fully
10 ◦ C/min in a nitrogen atmosphere.
understand the dynamics of ballistic impact onto fabrics. Therefore,
The TGA and DSC analysis curves of rubberised aerosol are shown
a purely empirical assessment, although useful, may not be ideal for
in Fig. 1, which shows the information about the physical properties,
studying such phenomena. Numerical modelling is especially beneficial material stability and kinetic analysis as a function of temperature. In
in armour design and research since related empirical assessments are the DSC curve, it can be clearly observed that an exothermic event
known to be extremely costly. On the other hand, numerical modelling between 350–400 ◦ C which is consistent with the polymer chain breaks
facilitates comprehensive analysis of highly dynamic and complicated in vulcanised rubber [29]. The peak is broad, revealing that the
scenarios, such as ballistic impacts, with relatively lower cost and lead material consists of blended materials with more than glass transition
time. Therefore, comprehensive numerical models of both neat and temperatures (Tg ) that are incompatible and phase-separated. In the
spray-coated fabrics are required. Moreover, the currently available TGA curve, weight loss occurred between 50 ◦ C and 100 ◦ C, is negligi-
studies do not focus on the performance of coated materials under ble which indicates the material has no adsorbed water. The 2% weight
different conditions such as high ambient temperature and wear and loss between 100 ◦ C and 300 ◦ C is due to the volatilisation of oils and
tear under repetitive usage (fatigue). Furthermore, the effects of coating processing additives, other elements with low molar mass, including
amount or the number of coatings applied have not been studied CO2 desorption by carboxyl, lactone and lactol. An approximately 65%
previously. Additionally, experimental studies which are in line with weight loss was recorded between 300 ◦ C and 500 ◦ C as a result of
international ballistic protection standards (such as the NIJ Standard) the decomposition of the polymeric material such as carbonyl, ether,
quinine and phenol [30], the release of organic vapours and the
are scarce in the available literature and mostly gas gun test setups
formation of ash.
are used. The present study considers the effects of coating amount,
ambient temperature, and fatigue on the behaviour of coated fabrics. 2.2. Methods
Moreover, high-velocity ballistic tests using 0.357 SIG projectiles were
also conducted to investigate the impact response of the coated and 2.2.1. Rubber material tension testing
neat panels. The rubber material used as the coating was characterised using
tensile tests carried out in accordance with the ASTM D412-16 stan-
2. Materials and methods dard [31]. Tension coupons with a thickness of approximately 3 mm
were created using aluminium moulds. The dimensions of the tension
coupons can be found in [31]. Displacement (crosshead) and force
2.1. Materials
(loadcell) histories were recorded from the Instron software. Displace-
ment history was used to generate the strain history while force history
2.1.1. Twaron fabrics was used to generate the stress history. Subsequently, the stress–strain
Twaron fabric variant CT709 was used in the present study, which relationships were derived using stress and strain histories. A crosshead
finds its primary application in soft body armour [26]. The fabric was speed of 500 mm/min was used as per the ASTM D412 standard. The
sourced from Bruck Textiles (Pvt.) Ltd (Wangaratta, VIC) in the finished test was repeated three times and averaged to get the stress–strain plot
roll form. The specifications of the fabric are given in Table 1. of the material.

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D. Weerasinghe, M.R. Bambach, D. Mohotti et al. Thin-Walled Structures 179 (2022) 109679

Fig. 1. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) results of the rubber material (coating material) used.

Fig. 2. Schematic diagram of the Split-Hopkinson tension bar (SHTB) test setup used for the dynamic tensile testing of single yarns.

2.2.2. Split Hopkinson Tension bar (SHTB) testing of yarns specific absorbed energy measurements of para-aramid yarns. However,
An LW-9398 A Split Hopkinson Tension Bar Tester manufactured by a clamping method similar to that of Tapie et al. [32] was used since
Long Win Science & Technology Corporation (Taiwan) was used in the the stress–strain curve was of the essence to the present work and the
present study. Specifications of the SHTB setup are given in Fig. 2. lack of experimental facilities to conduct TITY.
A gauge length of 10 mm was employed based on the recommenda- It is a three-component clamp consisting of a holder, a retainer and
tions of Tapie et al. [32]. This length selection facilitates achieving two semi-conical clamping plates. These parts are illustrated in Fig. 3.
high strain rates in the specimen and is made possible by a special The assembled and exploded views are also illustrated in Fig. 4.
clamp. The details of the clamp are presented in the following section. Either end of the yarn specimen was sandwiched in between the
Tapie et al. [32] report that the mechanical behaviour of woven and semi-conical clamping plates. In order to firmly grip the yarn specimen
virgin Twaron yarns varies significantly due to fibre damage during without introducing stress concentrations, a high-tack double-sided
weaving. Therefore, the present study extracted yarn samples from tape (∼0.1-mm thick) was used on the clamping surfaces of the semi-
woven Twaron fabrics rather than virgin yarns. conical plates. After placing the yarn specimen between the clamping
The stress–strain behaviour of the yarn specimens was deduced from plates, the clamping plates were placed inside the retainer and screwed
the recorded signals from the two strain gauges using the equations onto the holder. The holder is screwed onto the input/output bar, and
developed by Kolsky [33]. The striker bar velocity was varied by this is shown in Fig. 5.
changing the air pressure in the gas gun. The pressure was varied in the The clamp is screwed onto the SHTB at either end of the speci-
range of 0.2 Bar–0.8 Bar, resulting in strain rates varying from 450/s men. The outer diameter of the clamp was equal to the incident and
to 650/s. Each test was repeated three times and results were averaged transmission bar diameters (18 mm).
and presented. No pulse shaping was used in the tests. Yarn count of
the Twaron yarns was 930 dtex, which is equivalent to a yarn radius 2.2.3. Yarn pull-out testing
of 0.1454 mm. Yarn pull-out tests were carried out on fabric samples using an
A special clamp was manufactured to firmly hold yarn specimens experimental setup similar to Dong and Sun [35] and Kim et al. [21].
at either end without introducing stress concentrations. The clamps at The fixture employs two U-shaped steel clamping plates with a gap
either end of the yarn specimen screw onto the incident and trans- of 7 mm. Such a narrow-dimensioned gap is selected to minimise the
mission bars of the SHTB. The clamp design is similar to the one effects of transverse tension and shear deformation during yarn pull-out
reported by Tapie et al. [32]. A novel method called the ‘tensile experiments [35]. The pull-out length was set to be 51 mm. The U-
impact test for yarn’ (TITY) was proposed by Chevalier et al. [34] to shaped clamps’ inner surface was lined with sandpaper to allow a firm

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D. Weerasinghe, M.R. Bambach, D. Mohotti et al. Thin-Walled Structures 179 (2022) 109679

Fig. 3. Components of the clamp (a) Retainer (b) Holder and (c) Semi-conical clamping plates.

Fig. 4. (a) Exploded and (b) assembled view of the clamp.

of the single yarn at the centre of the specimen was rigidly mounted
between two PVC sheets using superglue (Loctite, Bunnings Australia),
as shown in Fig. 6(a). This enabled the free end of the pull-out specimen
to be rigidly clamped to the UTM crosshead clamp. The fixture is shown
in Fig. 6(b).
The single yarn at the centre of the specimen was pulled out
using an MTS Criterion uniaxial Electromechanical Universal Test-
ing Machine (UTM) and an MTS 810 uniaxial servo-hydraulic UTM
at 10 mm/min and 3000 mm/min speeds, respectively. These pull-
out speeds represent quasi-static and low-speed dynamic regimes, re-
spectively. The pull-out speed of the dynamic tests was limited to
3000 mm/min due to the limitations of the data recording speed of the
load cell used. A lost motion device was not used in the present work
and it was assumed that the free yarn end reached the crosshead speed
Fig. 5. (a) Semi-conical clamping plates with double-sided tape, (b) yarn specimen of 3000 mm/min within a significantly small time interval compared
placed between the clamping plates, and (c) clamping plates placed inside the retainer. with the loading duration. Each test was repeated three times and
results were averaged and presented.

grip without slippage. Four M15 bolts provided clamping pressure. The 2.2.4. Preparation of coated fabric samples
free end of the pull-out specimen was sandwiched between two 3 mm- In order to prepare coated fabric samples with a uniform areal
thick PVC sheets of size approximately 50 mm × 10 mm. The free end density with repeatability, a unique coating distribution system was

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D. Weerasinghe, M.R. Bambach, D. Mohotti et al. Thin-Walled Structures 179 (2022) 109679

rubber-coated fabric sample subjected to projectile impact at 400 m/s.

Subsequently, yarn pull-out specimens were prepared from samples

with different amounts of coating and subjected to both quasi-static and
dynamic yarn pull-out, as described in Section 2.2.1. The yarn pull-
out force (peak)/areal density or peak pull-out force per areal density
(PFAD) was taken as the metric to evaluate the performance of the
samples.
Fig. 9 shows the neat and coated (F-204-R-34) sample at different
magnification levels. It can be observed that the coating covers the
entire surface of the fabric, and the voids present in the neat fabric
weave are completely sealed. At the highest magnification level, it can
be observed that the coating seeped through the fibres.

2.2.6. Coating durability testing

2.2.6.1 Pull-out testing at different ambient temperatures Material sys-
tems used in applications such as impact protection must be satisfac-
torily operational in various temperatures depending on the end-use.
Therefore, in the present work, the yarn pull-out response of the coated
samples is studied at different ambient temperatures. Tests were carried
out at four different ambient temperatures; 30 ◦ C, 40 ◦ C, 50 ◦ C and
60 ◦ C. The maximum of 60 ◦ C was selected since this is higher than
the highest temperature ever recorded on earth [37].
Ambient temperatures higher than the room temperature were
achieved by using a temperature chamber, enclosing the lower and
upper grips of the UTM. The temperature inside the chamber varied
± 2 ◦ C from the specified value from the temperature controller. The
test setup is shown in Fig. 10. After placing the sample inside the
Fig. 6. (a) Yarn pull-out specimen and (b) the yarn pull-out clamp fixture. chamber, the temperature was set to the predetermined value. A five-
minute interval was used to allow the sample to reach the temperature
inside the chamber. After five minutes, the pull-out test was started, and
the pull-out force history was recorded. The pull-out speed was set to
used. The system consists of a flexible PVC sheet with a thickness of
10 mm/min, similar to the testing approach described in Section 2.2.3.
3 mm (Suntuf, Bunnings Australia) connected to a guided rail. Firstly,
the fabric was sprayed with an excess amount of rubber material. 2.2.6.2 Pull-out testing of fatigued samples Moreover, since the intended
Subsequently, the system is placed on top of the excess-coated fabric, application of the coated fabric is a soft armour panel, which is gen-
thus clamping it along two edges, as shown in Fig. 7. The flexible PVC erally subjected to wear and tear due to repetitive usage and body
sheet was moved along the guiding rail, removing the excess material movement, the effect of fatigue loading on the yarn pull-out behaviour
on the fabric surface. Moreover, the fabric and the frame were placed was also studied in the present work. The coated fabric was first
on a 4 mm thick rubber/polyurethane flexible sheet for uniform coating subjected to a fatigue/cyclic load mimicking repetitive body move-
application. ments and then tested for its pull-out performance. Fatigue loading
To determine the repeatability of the coating method, ten coated in the present work refers to the cyclic loading process that mimics
fabric samples of 350 mm × 500 mm were prepared. Ten 10 mm × repetitive body movements. The pull-out test procedure is as described
10 mm sized specimens were cut from each sample, and their areal in Section 2.2.3.
densities were measured and averaged to determine the average areal Standard test methods and specifications such as ASTM E606/
density of the ten fabric samples. Finally, the coefficient of variation E606M-21 (Standard Test Method for Strain-Controlled Fatigue Test-
(CoV) between the ten readings was used to evaluate the repeatability ing) relate to nominally homogeneous materials such as metals. There-
of the coating process. CoV of all the samples can be found in [36] fore, such methods are unsuitable for mimicking wear and tear due to
repetitive usage. Therefore, an in-house developed procedure was used
(Appendix 7.2, Tables 19–24).
for this purpose. A specialised fixture was used to impart a fatigue load
that clamps a coated fabric of size 90 mm × 180 mm within a 90 mm ×
2.2.5. Optimum number of coatings
90 mm area. The excess area is left to extract the free central yarn for
In order to evaluate the effect of coating amount on the perfor-
the subsequent pull-out test. The inner surfaces of the clamp were lined
mance, fabrics with different amounts of coating (1 coating, 2 coatings,
with sandpaper to allow for a rigid grip without slippage. Clamping
etc.) were prepared. At least 24 h were allowed between each coating
pressure was provided by four M6 bolts. The fixture is shown in Fig. 11.
for the products to cure fully. All the samples were given sample
codes using two letters and two numbers. The first letter, F, refers The centre point of the clamped sample was excited ±2 mm from the
to the neat fabric, and the first number followed by F refers to the clamped plane repetitively, using an MTS 810 uniaxial servo-hydraulic
areal density of the neat aramid fabric/s. The second letter, R, in the UTM. 100,000 excitations were performed at a frequency of 5 Hz.
abbreviations, refers to rubber. The number followed by the second The number of excitations was limited to 100,000 since the maximum
letter (R) refers to the areal density added by the rubber coating/s number of cycles could be completed within a day using the servo-
alone. For example, F-204-R-34 refers to a rubber-coated fabric sample hydraulic MTS UTM. Moreover, the machine could not be operated at
(signified by R) with the neat areal density of 204 GSM (grams per higher frequencies due to its limitations. In order to avoid any damage
square metre) and an added areal density of 34 GSM by the rubber to the coating, two 18 mm-diameter, 4 mm-thick round rare earth
coating. Sample names used and their illustrations are shown in Fig. 8. magnets were used on either side of the specimen, as shown in Fig. 11.
A third letter, V, was added to the nomenclature for samples subjected The magnet on the bottom surface of the specimen was connected to the
to ballistic impact, signifying the initial projectile impact velocity. The moving crosshead of the UTM by a 5 mm-diameter steel rod. Moreover,
number following the letter V is the initial projectile velocity rounded a 0.2-mm thick plastic release film was used between the magnet and
off to the nearest integer. For example, F-612-R-102-V-400 refers to a the fabric to avoid any damage to the coating by the magnet.

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D. Weerasinghe, M.R. Bambach, D. Mohotti et al. Thin-Walled Structures 179 (2022) 109679

Fig. 7. Coating distribution system used in the present study.

Fig. 8. Descriptions, abbreviations, illustrations and CoVs of the neat and coated fabric samples used.

2.2.7. Ballistic testing projectile impact velocities. In order to determine the BLV of targets,
Two multi-ply fabric targets, both neat and coated, were also tested the 0.357 SIG TMJ FN projectile was fired at different impact velocities
against a 0.357 SIG total metal jacketed (TMJ) projectile fired at a by changing the amount of gunpowder charge used to propel the
range of velocities. The tests were carried out at BMT Pvt. Ltd. (Victoria, projectiles. After a set of both perforating and non-perforating tests
Australia). The 0.357 TMJ projectiles were selected based on the testing were carried out, the three lowest projectile impact velocities that
guideline of the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) (DoJ, USA) NIJ perforated the target and the three highest impact velocities that did
Standard-0101.06 [38]. not perforate the target were averaged to calculate the BLV of each
Two different fabric targets were tested for their ballistic limit target.
velocity (BLV) against the 0.357 SIG TMJ projectiles. The first target
consisted of 20 plies of neat Twaron CT709 fabric plies, while the 2.2.8. Numerical modelling
second target consisted of 16 rubber-coated fabric plies. The high-tack All numerical simulations were conducted in the well-known com-
double-sided tape was used between the plies to diminish inter-ply mercial finite element code LS-DYNA. All simulations were carried out
slippage upon impact. The exposed surface area of the targets was using the Artemis HPC facility at the University of Sydney, containing
370 mm × 370 mm. Two square steel frames with outer dimensions of 7636 cores (CPUs), 45 TB of RAM, 108 NVIDIA V100 GPUs, 378 TB of
storage and 56 Gbps FDR InfiniBand (networking). For each numerical
420 mm × 420 mm and inner dimensions of 370 mm × 370 mm were
simulation, 8 cores from 8 different nodes (64 cores in total) were used
used to clamp the targets rigidly at all four edges. Clamping pressure
using the LS-DYNA MPP (Massively Parallel Processing). Simulations
was provided by eight G-clamps placed approximately equally spaced
elapsed over 8 h to 14 h of computational time per simulation. Details
along with the steel frames. To determine the BLV, the projectile was
about the numerical models are given below.
fired at different velocities, both perforating and non-perforating. Only
the initial projectile velocities and perforation status were recorded in 2.2.8.1 Finite element (FE) mesh development In order to develop the
these tests. Projectile initial velocity was measured at two points using full fabric meshes, a repeat unit of the Twaron fabric was generated
two chronographs located in between the barrel and the target. The first. The repeat unit was chosen such that it would be possible to
readings from these two chronographs were averaged to obtain the generate a quarter-symmetric model. The plan view of this repeating

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D. Weerasinghe, M.R. Bambach, D. Mohotti et al. Thin-Walled Structures 179 (2022) 109679

Fig. 9. The neat Twaron CT709 fabric at magnifications of (a) 5×, (b) 10×, (c) 20× and the coated Twaron fabric at magnifications of (d) 5×, (e) 10×, (f) 20×.

Fig. 10. Yarn pull-out test setup in the temperature chamber.

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D. Weerasinghe, M.R. Bambach, D. Mohotti et al. Thin-Walled Structures 179 (2022) 109679

Fig. 11. MTS servo-hydraulic test setup devised to impart fatigue loads on coated fabric samples.

Fig. 12. (a) Close-up image of the Twaron CT709 fabric and (b) the quarter-symmetric repeating unit [36].

unit is shown in Fig. 12(b). The repeat unit was then duplicated in centrelines of woven yarns
two orthogonal directions to develop the full mesh of a fabric. Rather ( )
𝑡 2𝜋𝑥
than creating the 3D geometry using a third-party application such as 𝑦 = cos (1)
2 𝑠
TexGen, a more geometrically accurate mesh was generated with an where ‘x’ is the displacement in the direction of the yarn width and
innovative method using LS-PrePost and Altair HyperMesh. ‘y’ is the yarn centreline. The y axis is representative of the fabric
Firstly, a wireframe was generated using sinusoidal waveforms of thickness direction. The parameters ‘t ’ and ‘s’ refer to the yarn thickness
the form given in Eq. (1). These sinusoidal waveforms represent the and the span, respectively and are illustrated in Fig. 13. A microscopic

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D. Weerasinghe, M.R. Bambach, D. Mohotti et al. Thin-Walled Structures 179 (2022) 109679

Fig. 13. Microscopic cross-sectional view of a Twaron CT709 fabric [36].

Fig. 14. Voids and discontinuities present in the initial mesh of the coating.

Fig. 15. Finite element mesh of the (a) repeat unit containing yarn parts (red and green) and coatings (yellow) and (b) the 0.357 SIG TMJ FN projectile. (For interpretation of
the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)

cross section of the Twaron CT709 fabric is shown in Fig. 13. The Table 3
Twaron CT709 parameters for equation.
half span ‘𝑠∕2’ (shown in Fig. 13) can be directly calculated from the
Measurement (mm) CT709
fabric sett, which equals to 1/sett. Fabric sett is the number of yarns
Fabric thickness (h) 0.3
per inch in the warp or weft direction. Using the value of half-span as Half-span (s/2) 0.9407
the known length, the yarn thickness (t ) and width (w) were extracted, Yarn thickness (t) 0.12
using ImageJ software. Specifications of the Twaron CT709 fabric and Yarn width (w) 0.88
the parameters of the sinusoidal waveform for the same are given in
Tables 1 and 3, respectively.
Extracted measurements from CT709 fabric are summarised in Ta- However, a mesh developed in this manner has voids in the mesh and
ble 3. discontinuities, as shown in Fig. 14.
FE mesh of the coating was generated by extruding the surface Therefore, the keyword was imported to Altair HyperMesh to mend
elements of the neat fabric. The authors’ previous work discussed mesh the mesh defects. Firstly, mesh discontinuities were eliminated by
development of the neat fabric in detail [1,39,40]. The FE mesh of manually moving nodes. Nodes present on the edges of the repeat
the solid coating was generated using the ‘‘Solid_Face_Drag ’’ option in unit were always moved such that the nodes on the opposite side
the LS-PrePost Element Generation tool [41]. Element extrusion was had matching X and Y coordinates to facilitate node merging upon
performed along the directions perpendicular to the plane of the fabric. duplication. The coating was separated from the yarn parts before

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D. Weerasinghe, M.R. Bambach, D. Mohotti et al. Thin-Walled Structures 179 (2022) 109679

Table 4 Table 5
Material parameters for Twaron CT709. Modified Johnson Cook (MJC) material parameters of lead alloy and brass.
Material constant Notation Value Description Value Lead alloy [46] Brass [47]
Young’s modulus E 69.2 GPa Density kg/m3 10 660 8520
Poisson’s ratio υ 0.3 Poisson’s ratio 𝜈 0.42 0.31
Bulk modulus K 57.7 GPa Taylor–Quinney coefficient □ 0.9 0.9
Shear modulus G 26.6 GPa Specific heat J/(K kg) 124 385
Spring stiffness 1 E1 59 GPa Thermal expansion coefficient K−1 2.9 × 10−5 1.9 × 10−5
Spring stiffness 2 E2 22 GPa Melt temperature K 760 1189
Dashpot constant 𝜂 910 kPa s Modulus of elasticity E (GPa) 12.4 115
Yield stress constant A (MPa) 24 206
B (MPa) 55.5 505
Strain hardening constants
n 0.9 0.42
moving the nodes, thus creating duplicate nodes on the coating-yarn Viscous effect c 0.2 0.01
Thermal sensitivity m 1 1
interfaces. This was done to facilitate node moving without altering Cockcroft–Latham fracture MPa 175 900
the geometry of the yarn parts. This was done using the LS-PrePost Critical temperature K 684 1000
Element Detach tool. The process was repeated for all the discontinuing
edges of the mesh. Subsequently, the mesh was imported back to LS-
PrePost, and duplicate nodes at the moved edge portions were merged.
This created a seamless mesh of the coating material on the yarn
surface, as shown in Fig. 15. This repeating unit was duplicated in
X and Z directions (triad indicating directions shown in Fig. 15(a))
repetitively, and duplicate nodes were merged to obtain the FE mesh
of the coated fabric. The fabric mesh was duplicated in the Y direction
to obtain FE meshes with multiple layers. This process generates an FE
mesh that consists of only hexahedral elements in the coating. With
the complicated geometry of the repeating unit of the fabric, previous
studies used a tetrahedral mesh for the coating [42], which could result
in a stiff material response and high simulation times due to the small
element size. Therefore, the method proposed herein has the potential
to simulate coated or composite material behaviour more accurately
using fewer computational resources.
The FE mesh of the 0.357 SIG TMJ FN projectile was also generated
in Altair HyperMesh and imported to LS-DYNA. The mesh consisted of Fig. 16. True stress–strain behaviour of the coating rubber material.
only hexagonal elements, as shown in Fig. 15(b).

2.2.8.2 Material definitions *MAT _ MOONEY _ RIVLIN _ RUBBER

(MAT 027) was used as the constitutive model for the rubber material. 2.2.8.3 Contact interactions Contact interactions follow a simple
Coulombic law of friction. All contacts used were eroding type contacts
This constitutive has been previously used to accurately capture the
in which the contact surfaces are automatically updated as free surface
hyperelastic behaviour of rubber-like materials [43,44].
elements are being eroded [48]. Contact between the projectile and
The material stress–strain curve obtained, as discussed in detail the fabric was provided by the well-known *CONTACT _ ERODING _
in Section 2.2.1, was directly used in the material card. Elements SURFACE _ TO _ SURFACE keyword. Inter yarn contacts were provided
were removed from the simulation when the maximum principal strain using the *CONTACT _ ERODING _ SINGLE _ SURFACE keyword. This
reached a value of 1.04, based on the tensile test results discussed type of contact was used since this effectively treats self-contact (buck-
in Section 2.2.1. This was achieved by setting the value of parameter ling) and part-part contact [48]. Static frictional coefficient, dynamic
MXEPS to 1.04 in the *MAT _ ADD _ EROSION card. frictional coefficient and the exponential decay coefficient were given
A viscoelastic constitutive model with built-in rate-sensitive failure values of 0.27, 0.16 and 0.5, respectively, based on the recommenda-
was used for the fabric. The authors’ previous work discusses the de- tions of Tapie et al. [49]. All contacts are penalty-based, identifying
velopment and validation of the constitutive model and the numerical master nodes or segments penetrating slave nodes or segments and ap-
model [40]. Stress–strain curves obtained from the SHTB tests discussed plying appropriate counter forces. Instead of a slave node-master node
in Section 2.2.2 were used to calibrate the constitutive model. Material contact treatment, a segment-based contact algorithm was invoked
parameters for the constitutive model are given in Table 4. Failure using the SOFT=2 option available in optional card A. This algorithm
was implemented by eroding elements. The considered damage was searches for penetrations between segments instead of the traditional
node-based approach [48]. Moreover, the coating and the fabric had
anisotropic where the peak principal stress along the yarn axis was
merged nodes in their interface.
considered as the failure criterion.
0.357 SIG TMJ FN projectile has a brass jacket and a lead alloy
3. Results and discussion
softcore. The well-known Johnson–Cook constitutive model [45] was
used to model the two metals. This constitutive model is widely used 3.1. Rubber tension test results
in numerical simulations to represent a wide array of metals [41]
accurately. Two *MAT_MODIFIED_JOHNSON_COOK (MAT_107) cards The true stress–strain response of the rubber material used is shown
were defined separately for lead alloy and brass materials in the main in Fig. 16.
keyword. Material failure or element erosion is built into the material The curve closely follows the characteristic hyperelastic curve of a
model. The failure criterion used in the present work is the well-known rubber-like material. The failure stress was 4.5 MPa, while the failure
Cockcroft–Latham fracture criterion. The material parameters used in strain was recorded as 1.04. The material was soft, and failure was
the present study can be found in Table 5. observed approximately in the middle of the specimen.

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D. Weerasinghe, M.R. Bambach, D. Mohotti et al. Thin-Walled Structures 179 (2022) 109679

Fig. 17. Raw voltage signals recorded from the incident and transmission bars.

Fig. 18. True stress–strain response of yarns extracted from Twaron CT709 fabrics at different strain rates.

3.2. SHTB test results pull-out force vs. displacement curves. The first region consists of a
nearly linear portion up to the peak load point. During this time,
The true stress–strain response of Twaron yarns deduced by strain the pulled yarn is de-crimped whilst the yarn is held rigidly in place
gauge readings is shown in Fig. 18. An example output signal (voltage– by static friction at yarn crossover points. After reaching the peak
time) from the two bars (strain gauges) is shown in Fig. 17. load, yarn translation begins in the pulled direction. This post-peak
Yarn failure stress increased from 1.85 GPa to 2.21 GPa when the region is generally characterised by oscillations in the pull-out force
strain rate increased from 450/s to 650/s. At 550/s, the failure stress vs. displacement curves caused by the yarn crossover points. Peak pull-
was 2.0 GPa, and the average failure stress was 2.02 GPa. However, the out force (PPF) of different rubber-coated samples at quasi-static and
failure strain decreased from 3.6% to 3.2% upon increasing the strain dynamic pull-out speeds were also tabulated in Table 6.
rate from 450/s to 650/s. At 550/s, the failure strain was 3.4%. The It can be observed that the average peak pull-out force (PPF) showed
change in failure strain was 0.4% which is negligible, and the average an increase of 3.8 times and 10.4 times for the first two coatings
failure strain was 3.4%. compared to the PPF of the neat fabric sample at quasi-static pull-
out speeds. With a single coating, the PPF was increased by 4.8 times
3.3. Optimum number of coatings with reference to the neat fabric sample at quasi-static pull-out speeds.
Moreover, the PPF of the F-204-R-25 sample at quasi-static pull-out
Pull-out force–displacement graphs for the quasi-static and dynamic speeds was 11.4 times that of the neat fabric sample. The PPFs were
pull-out tests are shown in Figs. 19 and 20, respectively. The pull- increased by 12.3, 13.1, 14.0, and 15.0 times for the subsequent
out tests are consistent with two distinct regions in the recorded coatings, respectively.

11
D. Weerasinghe, M.R. Bambach, D. Mohotti et al. Thin-Walled Structures 179 (2022) 109679

Fig. 19. Quasi-static yarn pull-out response of the neat and the rubber-coated samples (for colours, refer to the online version).

Fig. 20. Dynamic yarn pull-out response of the neat and the rubber-coated samples (for colours, refer to the online version).

Table 6
Peak pull-out force (PPF) and the ratio of PPF of the neat sample to PPF of rubber-coated samples at quasi-static and dynamic pull-out speeds.
Sample name Peak pull-out force Pull-out force/neat Peak pull-out force Pull-out force/neat Percentage increase with
(quasi-static speed) sample pull-out force (dynamic speed) sample pull-out force respect to quasi-static speed
N N %
F-204 4.4 1 4.4 1 –
F-204-R-12 22.4 5.1 30.2 6.9 35
F-204-R-25 51.0 11.6 50.2 11.4 −2
F-204-R-30 53.9 12.3 62.0 14.1 15
F-204-R-34 63.6 14.5 75.6 17.2 19
F-204-R-39 62.2 14.1 80.7 18.3 30
F-204-R-45 63.4 14.4 84.6 19.2 33

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D. Weerasinghe, M.R. Bambach, D. Mohotti et al. Thin-Walled Structures 179 (2022) 109679

crossover points in quasi-static tests. On the other hand, the PFAD

showed a strictly increasing trend for dynamic pull-out tests. In contrast
to the quasi-static tests, the PPF did not plateau after four coatings.
After four coatings, the additional rubber material in the coating may
have contributed to the PPF due to the strain rate-induced stiffening
of the coated rubber material. However, it can also be observed that
the PFAD increment is almost negligible after four coatings. This could
be because this small increment may have been caused purely due to
the rate-induced stiffening of the rubber coating, as indicated by the
plateaued PPF (quasi-static) after four coatings. Therefore, the optimum
number of coatings was selected to be four (F-204-R-34).

3.4. Effects of temperature and fatigue on the yarn pull-out behaviour

3.4.1. Effects of temperature on the yarn pull-out behaviour

The yarn pull-out response of the optimised F-204-R-34 sample at
different ambient temperatures is given in Fig. 22.
Fig. 21. Variation of pull-out force per areal density of the samples with the number
The PPF did not vary significantly in the considered temperature
of coatings. range. The PPFs for 30 ◦ C, 40 ◦ C, 50 ◦ C and 60 ◦ C are 57.5 N, 59.2 N,
59.6 N and 57.6 N, respectively.
It was observed that the average PPF did not vary with a dis-
A similar trend to the quasi-static tests was observed in the dynamic tinguishable trend when the temperature was increased from 30 ◦ C
yarn pull-out tests, where the PPF increased by 6.9 times and 12.7 times to 60 ◦ C. The PPFs are similar at the average PPF of 58.5 N in the
for the F-204-R-12 and F-204-R-25 samples, respectively, at dynamic considered temperature range. This is due to the thermal stability of
pull-out speeds. The subsequent samples showed relatively lower in- the rubber material for ambient temperatures ranging from −28.8 ◦ C to
creases. However, the PPF was higher for the dynamic tests than for the 60 ◦ C [28]. The mechanical properties of the coating can be assumed to
quasi-static tests. The PPF at dynamic pull-out speeds was 27% higher remain unchanged in the considered temperature range in the present
than at quasi-static pull-out speeds on average. Moreover, the post-peak work, thereby resulting in the unchanged PPF. Therefore, it can be
behaviour differs from the quasi-static tests in that the reduction of deduced that the impact performance of the F-204-R-34 sample remains
pull-out force immediately after the PPF is higher in the dynamic tests. the same up to 60 ◦ C ambient temperature.
The variation of PFAD with the number of coatings applied for On the other hand, it has been reported that the yarn pull-out
both quasi-static and dynamic pull-out tests is graphically illustrated response of STF-impregnated fabrics is highly sensitive to ambient
in Fig. 21. Trendlines are second-order polynomial fits. temperatures [50]. At high temperatures such as 50 ◦ C, the PPF reduces
It can be observed that the PFAD reduced after four coatings (F- since the apparent viscosity of STF is decreased by orders of magnitude,
204-R-34) for the quasi-static pull-out tests as opposed to the dynamic and the critical shear rate is also significantly increased with increasing
pull-out tests, which exhibited an increasing trend. However, the in- temperatures. Conversely, the pull-out response of STF-impregnated
crease in PFAD was 4% for five coatings (F-204-R-39) and 7% for six fabrics is improved at sub-zero temperatures. The inherently poor
coatings (F-204-R-45). performance at high ambient temperatures is one of the main rea-
The peak pull-out force (PPF) was significantly increased by all sons STF-impregnation is not preferred in soft armour. Therefore, the
rubber coatings. This improvement suggests that the rubber material method proposed herein presents a more thermally-stable alternative
increased the inter-yarn static friction, thereby constricting yarn trans- at quasi-static speeds.
lation upon being pulled out. The PPF is followed by a sharp drop
in the load when yarn translation begins, and rubber material at the 3.4.2. Effects of fatigue on the yarn pull-out behaviour
yarn crossover points fails. PPF was higher in the post-peak region The yarn pull-out response of the optimised F-204-R-34 sample
than the neat F-204 sample due to higher inter yarn dynamic friction. subjected to fatigue loading is given in Fig. 23. Yarn pull-out response
Kim et al. [13] reported that polymeric anchors formed upon yarn of the non-fatigued F-204-R-34 sample, and the non-fatigued, neat
translation due to ballistic impact, which were initially sprayed-on F-204 sample are also shown for comparison.
polymer, partially bonded to yarns. The formation of such anchors The PPF of the sample subjected to fatigue loading was 54.9 N in
reportedly increased the inter-yarn friction. This phenomenon is likely contrast to the control sample (not subjected to fatigue) with a PPF of
to have increased inter-yarn dynamic friction in the present work. 63.6 N. This is a 13.6% decrease in the PPF upon being subjected to
The PPF was not affected by the pull-out speed for neat fabrics, fatigue loading. However, the PPF of the fatigued F-204-R-34 sample is
suggesting that the rate-sensitive pull-out response of coated samples 12.5 times that of the PPF of the non-fatigued, neat F-204 sample.
results from the coated rubber material. The polymeric coating appears To the authors’ best knowledge, the yarn pull-out response of any
to stiffen upon introducing high strain rates, thereby increasing the coated fabric subjected to fatigue loading has not been studied pre-
PPFs at high strain rates. viously. However, this is an important façade of a coating since the
It can be observed that the areal density increased significantly with end product is subjected to wear and tear due to repetitive usage/body
the first two coatings (F-204-R-12 and F-204-R-25), while the areal movement. The simulated wear and tear using fatigue loading by a
density increase is almost insignificant for the subsequent coatings. This UTM is a novel, in-house technique. The 13.6% reduction of PPF upon
is mainly due to the majority of the coated content being scraped off being subjected to fatigue loading indicates that the integrity of rubber
the surface during the coating process. The variation of PFAD with the coating was compromised by fatigue loading. It has been reported
number of rubber coatings is graphically illustrated in Fig. 21. The PPF that fatigue loading alters rubber elastomers’ crack propagation and
of quasi-static pull-out tests is mainly governed by static friction at nucleation behaviour [51]. Therefore, the loss of PPF upon fatigue
yarn crossover points, which are bonded by the rubber coating. The loading could be due to the fatigue-induced damage to the coating prior
reduction of PFAD after four coatings is due to the PPF being plateaued to the yarn pull-out. Another reason could be the possible damage that
while the actual density increased. After four coatings, the additional occurred at the fibre-coating interface. This reduction in performance is
rubber material may not have contributed to static friction at yarn significant because it indicates that the performance of the soft armour

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D. Weerasinghe, M.R. Bambach, D. Mohotti et al. Thin-Walled Structures 179 (2022) 109679

Fig. 22. Pull-out force–displacement plots of F-204-R-34 samples at different ambient temperatures (for colours, refer to the online version).

Fig. 23. Yarn pull-out response of F-204-R-34 sample (fatigued and non-fatigued) and F-204 sample (non-fatigued).

Table 7
Numerical perforation status of neat fabric targets with different ply numbers (P for perforated and NP for non-perforated).
Target name No. of neat fabric plies Overall areal density of the target Projectile impact velocity Perforation status
kg/m2 m/s P/NP
F-3264-V448 16 3.264 448 P
F-3468-V448 17 3.468 448 P
F-3672-V448 18 3.672 448 P
F-3876-V448 19 3.876 448 P
F-4080-V448 20 4.080 448 NP

Table 8
Numerical perforation status of coated fabric targets with different ply numbers (P for perforated and NP for non-perforated).
Target name No. of coated fabric plies Overall areal density of target Projectile impact velocity Perforation status
kg/m2 m/s P/NP
F-3468-R580-V448 17 4.048 448 NP
F-3264-R546-V448 16 3.810 448 NP
F-3060-R512-V448 15 3.572 448 P

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D. Weerasinghe, M.R. Bambach, D. Mohotti et al. Thin-Walled Structures 179 (2022) 109679

Fig. 24. The perforating projectile impact of the F-3876-V-448 (neat fabric target with 19 layers) at different timestamps.

Table 9
Properties of the soft armour panels tested against the 0.357 SIG total metal jacketed projectile.
Sample BLV Thickness % reduction of thickness Areal density % reduction of areal density
mm kg/m2
F-4080 458 6 – 4.08 –
F-3264-R-546 451 4.8 20 3.81 6.6

panel is likely to be adversely affected by significant wear and tear. protection [38]. The number of neat fabric plies was increased from 16
However, it is observed that the PPF of the coated, fatigued sample until the 0.357 SIG TMJ FN projectile fired at 448 m/s was defeated in
is 12.5 times that of the neat sample. Therefore, even though the the numerical simulations. For example, if the projectile penetrated the
reduction in PPF is noticeable compared to the non-fatigued sample, the neat target with 16 layers with a residual velocity, impact on a target
PPF is still significantly higher, indicating significantly better impact with 17 neat plies was simulated. This was repeated until a neat target
resistance. with a certain number of plies defeated the projectile. Upon predicting
the number of neat fabric plies required to defeat the projectile, the
3.5. Ballistic testing and numerical modelling results number of coated fabric plies was selected. The areal density of the
coated target is equal to or less than that of the control sample (neat
One of the requirements of a soft armour panel is its ability to defeat target), which defeated the projectile. Moreover, this control sample
a 0.357 SIG TMJ FN projectile fired at 448 m/s as per the NIJ IIIA level (neat fabric target that defeats the projectile) was sent for ballistic

15
D. Weerasinghe, M.R. Bambach, D. Mohotti et al. Thin-Walled Structures 179 (2022) 109679

Fig. 25. The non-perforating projectile impact of the F-3264-R-546-V-448 target (coated fabric target with 16 plies).

testing to validate the results. Subsequently, ballistic impact simulation

on the coated fabric target with an equivalent (or less) areal density
as the control sample was carried out. The number of coated fabric
plies was reduced for each non-penetrating simulation. For example,
if the coated target with 16 plies defeated the projectile, impact on
a target with 15 coated plies was simulated. This was repeated until
the projectile defeated a coated fabric target with a certain number
of plies. The coated fabric target with the minimum number of plies
that defeated the projectile was sent for ballistic testing to validate the
results.
Table 7 summarises the numerical predictions of the perforation
status of different neat fabric targets containing various numbers of
fabric plies. It can be observed that the targets containing 19 neat
fabric plies or less were predicted to be perforated by a 0.357 SIG TMJ
projectile fired at 448 m/s. Consequently, the neat target, which defeats
the 0.357 SIG TMJ FN projectile, fired at 448 m/s with the minimum
possible number of neat fabric plies, target F-4080-V-448 was sent for
ballistic testing for validation. Moreover, the numerical simulations’
upper limit of the number of coated fabric plies was based on the
areal density of target F-4080-V-448 (neat fabric target defeating the
projectile with the minimum number of plies). A coated fabric with
17 plies, target F-3264-R-580-V-448 has a similar areal density to a
neat target with 20 plies, target F-4080-V-448. Therefore, numerical
simulations summarised in Table 8 were initiated with target F-3264-R-
Fig. 26. (a) Strike face and (b) exit face of target F-4080-V-448 (20 plies of neat 580-V-448. The perforating projectile impact of the F-3876-V-448 (neat
fabrics).
fabric target with 19 layers) is shown in Fig. 24.

16
D. Weerasinghe, M.R. Bambach, D. Mohotti et al. Thin-Walled Structures 179 (2022) 109679

Fig. 27. (a) Strike face and (b) exit face of target F-3264-R-546-V-448 (16 plies of coated fabrics).

Fig. 28. Damaged coating on the F-204-R-34 coated sample at (a) and (b) 5×, (c) and (d) 10×, (e) 20× and (f) 50× magnification levels.

17
D. Weerasinghe, M.R. Bambach, D. Mohotti et al. Thin-Walled Structures 179 (2022) 109679

It was observed that the targets containing 16 coated fabric plies models were also developed using a novel mesh development method
or more were not predicted to be perforated by a 0.357 SIG TMJ to simulate the impact response of multi-ply fabric targets. The results
FN projectile fired at 448 m/s. i.e. targets F-3468-R-580-V-448 and of the study indicate that:
F-3264-R-546-V-448 defeat the 0.357 SIG TMJ FN projectile fired at 1. The amount/number of coating/s affected the yarn pull-out be-
448 m/s while target F-3060-R-512-V-448 is perforated. Consequently, haviour of Twaron fabrics. The yarn pull-out force increased with a
the coated target with the minimum overall areal density which defeats higher number of coatings for both quasi-static and dynamic tests. How-
the 0.357 SIG TMJ FN projectile, fired at 448 m/s, target F-3264-R-546- ever, after four coatings, the advantage of enhanced pull-out resistance
V-448 was sent for ballistic testing for validation. diminished due to increased areal density.
The BLV (against 0.357 SIG projectile), thickness and areal density 2. Yarn pull-out behaviour of the coated fabric showed little to no
of the two armour panels sent for ballistic testing, neat and coated, sensitivity to ambient temperature in the considered temperature range
are given in Table 9. Post-impact F-4080 and F-3468-R-546 targets are of 30 ◦ C to 60 ◦ C.
shown in Figs. 26 and 27, respectively. 3. Inducing a fatigue load on the optimised F-204-R-34 sample
The non-perforating projectile impact of the F-3876-R-546-V-448 caused a reduction of 13.6% in the PPF. However, this PPF is 12.5 times
(coated fabric target with 16 layers) is shown in Fig. 25. higher than that of the PPF of the neat F-204 sample.
The damaged coating after ballistic tests is shown at different mag- 4. The tested soft armour panels showed that the proposed method
nification levels in Fig. 28. It can be observed that the coating is intact has potential in designing and developing lightweight and low-
on some yarn surfaces however, coating was damaged and ejected from thickness armour panels. The coated target exhibited a 20% lower
the other surfaces. Moreover, voids present in the neat fabric that were thickness and a 6.6% lower areal density while having a similar BLV
initially sealed by the coating (before impact, Fig. 9) were again open, to its neat counterpart.
since the coating in the voids was ejected by ballistic impact. On some
locations, tearing of the coating was observed (Fig. 28(c)). However, at CRediT authorship contribution statement
high magnification levels it was observed that some of the coating was
still present on fibre surfaces (Fig. 28(e) and (f)). Similar damage to the Dakshitha Weerasinghe: Writing – review & editing, Writing –
coating was observed in the adhesive-coated Kevlar fabric reported by original draft, Validation, Investigation, Formal analysis, Data curation,
Kim et al. [21]. It was postulated that the polymeric anchors attached Conceptualization. M.R. Bambach: Writing – review & editing, Super-
to the fibre surfaces increased inter-yarn friction. vision, Resources, Project administration, Methodology, Investigation,
Yarn mobility in a neat woven fabric is comparatively higher than Funding acquisition, Formal analysis, Conceptualization. Damith Mo-
in a coated one thus making it relatively easy for the projectile to hotti: Writing – review & editing, Validation, Resources, Project ad-
perforate the target by the wedge through effect. Mobility of yarns in ministration, Formal analysis, Data curation. Hongxu Wang: Writing –
a weave can be gauged using yarn pull-out test. Peak yarn pull-out review & editing, Validation, Resources, Project administration, Formal
force recorded for coated fabric samples is significantly higher than analysis, Data curation. Sheng Jiang: Writing – review & editing, Re-
the neat counterparts. Therefore, the projectile is less likely to push sources, Investigation, Formal analysis, Data curation. Paul J. Hazell:
apart the yarns in contact causing perforation by the wedge through Writing – review & editing, Resources, Project administration, Funding
effect for a coated fabric target. This could be the reasons why the
acquisition, Formal analysis, Data curation.
coated fabric target outperformed the neat target for impact velocities
lower than the critical velocity. Moreover, since the orthogonal yarns
Declaration of competing interest
in the weave are bonded together by the rubberised coating, stresses
are transferred more effectively away from the point of impact, into
The authors declare that they have no known competing finan-
the secondary yarns involved, compared to neat fabrics. This facilitates
cial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to
more effective energy absorption, due to the higher involvement of the
influence the work reported in this paper.
secondary yarns in a coated fabric.
Additionally, the rubberised coating endowed the fabric with addi-
tional stiffness and areal density. This also provides the coated target Data availability
additional perforation resistance. A quotient of the projectile energy
is transferred to the target as the kinetic energy of the rearwards- Data will be made available on request.
moving pyramidal deformation. This is the primary energy dissipation
mechanism in the early stages of impact. Acknowledgements
The BLVs of two targets against a 0.357 SIG TMJ projectile are given
in Table 9. It can be observed that both panels exhibit approximately The authors would like to acknowledge the generous assistance
similar BLVs. However, the number of plies of the coated target was of Mrs. Liberty Wagner and Mr. Vineet Dhawan from Bruck Textiles,
16, while the neat target consisted of 20 plies, resulting in an overall Pvt. Ltd in providing the Twaron fabric material used in the present
thickness reduction of 20% and an areal density reduction of 6.6%. work. The assistance of Dr. Hongjian ‘Andy’ Wang with the temperature
This suggests that the proposed method has the potential to achieve the chamber tests is also acknowledged. The assistance from Prof. Luming
fundamental objectives of armour design: to produce lightweight and Shen with the tension bar is acknowledged. The assistance of Mr. Sergio
comfortable armour systems while preserving impact resistance [1]. Carvalho, Mr. Paul Busstra, Mr. Paul Geddes, and Mr. Paul Burrell
with manufacturing the clamps and frames is also appreciated. Finally,
4. Conclusions the authors acknowledge the assistance of Mr. Sanket Rawat and Ms.
Vishakha Weerasinghe with the DSC/TGA tests.
This paper presents a comprehensive study on developing a soft
armour panel using Twaron CT709 aramid fabrics and a commercially References
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