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Giant Bamboo Fiber Reinforced Epoxy Composite in Multilayered Ballistic Armor

Abstract

The ballistic performance of a multilayered armor with a front ceramic tile backed by a plate of giant bamboo fiber reinforced epoxy composite was assessed. The ceramic layer spalls the projectile, while the bamboo composite dissipates the remaining energy. Ballistic tests were performed with high velocity ammunition and the projectile penetration was evaluated by the intrusion depth in a clay witness. The average depth value of near 18 mm was found well below the limit specified by the NIJ standard of 44 mm and better than that for aramid fabric composite, about 22 mm, with the same thickness of the giant bamboo composite. The giant bamboo composite acts as an efficient barrier for the fragments originated from the ceramic brittle rupture. For practical application in portable armor for personal protection, the layer of giant bamboo composite presents not only a superior ballistic performance but also lightness and economical advantages over the conventional aramid fabric.

Keywords:
ballistic test; multilayered armor; bamboo fiber composite; bullet penetration analysis


1 Introduction

Personal protection against high velocity (>700 m/s) ammunition, such as the 7.62 × 51 mm caliber bullet, requires a light shielding based on multilayered armor system (MAS) with high impact absorption and resistance to projectile penetration11 Abrate S. Ballistic impact on composite structures. 1st ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 1998. p. 215-220.. MAS are usually composed of a harder front ceramic tile with the ability to deform and erode/fracture the projectile22 Medvedovski E. Lightweight ceramic composite armor system. Advances in Applied Ceramics. 2006; 105(5):241-245. http://dx.doi.org/10.1179/174367606X113537.
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4 Medvedovski E. Ballistic performance of armor ceramics: Influence of design and structure – part I. Ceramics International. 2010: 36(7): 2103-2115
-55 Medvedovski E. Ballistic performance of armor ceramics: Influence of design and structure – part II. Ceramics International. 2010: 36(7): 2117-2127.. Owing to this ceramic frontal layer, a great deal of the projectile energy is dissipated by means of its fragmentation involving mechanisms of nucleation, growth, coalescence and propagation of micro cracks66 Louro LHL and Meyers MA. Effect of stress state and microstructural parameters on impact damage of alumina-based ceramics. Journal of Materials Science. 1989; 24(7):2516-2532. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF01174523.
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. A second MAS layer backing the ceramic is selected as a lighter composite material, which reduces the impact energy by absorbing part of the blast of fragments from either projectile or ceramic77 Tasdemirci A, Tunusoglu G and Guden M. The effect of the interlayer on the ballistic performance of ceramic/composite armors: experimental and numerical study. International Journal of Impact Engineering. 2012; 44:1-9. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijimpeng.2011.12.005.
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. For this second layer, glass fiber composites have originally been investigated88 Nunes LM, Paciornik S and d’Almeida JRM. Evaluation of the damage area of glass-fibre-reinforced epoxy-matrix composite materials submitted to ballistic impacts. Composites Science and Technology. 2004; 64(7-8):945-954. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0266-3538(03)00105-2.
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. Aramid fabric such as Kevlar™ and Twaron™[99 Lee YS, Wetzel ED and Wagner NJ. The ballistic impact characteristic of Kevlar® woven fabrics impregnated with a colloidal shear thickening fluid. Journal of Materials Science. 2003; 38(13):2825-2833. http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1024424200221.
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] as well as ultra high molecular polyethylene (UHMPE) fiber such as Spectra™ and Dyneema™[1010 Lee BL, Song JW and Ward JE. Failure of spectra polyethylene fibre-reinforced composites under ballistic impact loading. Journal of Composite Materials. 1994; 28(13):1202-1226. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/002199839402801302.
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,1111 Hine PJ, Duckett RA, Morye SS, Carr DJ and Ward IM. Modelling of the energy absorption. Composites Science and Technology. 2000; 60:2631-2642.] are today preferred for the lightweight body armor second layer MAS composites. A MAS system may also include a third metallic layer acting as a final barrier, which restricts the penetration of the projectile or its fragments beyond the maximum standard indentation or intrusion depth of 44 mm, which causes serious injure to a personal body. In some cases, a spall shield is attached on the front of the armor to avoid flight way ceramic fragments44 Medvedovski E. Ballistic performance of armor ceramics: Influence of design and structure – part I. Ceramics International. 2010: 36(7): 2103-2115,55 Medvedovski E. Ballistic performance of armor ceramics: Influence of design and structure – part II. Ceramics International. 2010: 36(7): 2117-2127..

As the lighter component of a body armor vest, the intermediate composite layer, usually aramid or UHMPE, is not only intended to provide comfort and mobility to the wearer but also to improve the absorption efficiency of the projectile impact. Lower shock impedance composite like the Kevlar™ standing behind the front interface will cause the proceeding compressive wave to be comparatively lower in transmitted energy. Since the shock impedance is directly related to the material’s density, a greater ballistic impact energy reduction should be provided by a comparatively lighter composite backing the ceramic tile1212 Meyers MA. Dynamic behavior of materials. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc; 1994. p. 183-201.

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14 Ulven C, Vaidya UK and Hosur MV. Effect of projectile shape during ballistic perforation of VARTM carbon/epoxy composite panels. Composite Structures. 2003; 61(1-2):143-150.
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. The replacement of the aramid fabric by a lower density fiber reinforced composite would be an alternative to improve the impact absorption. A possible candidate might be a lighter polymer composite reinforced with natural fibers obtained from plants, also known as lignocellulosic fibers. In addition to a lower density than aramid fabric, these natural fiber composites are less expensive and regarded as environmentally friendly. Indeed, lignocellulosic fibers are renewable, degradable, recyclable and considered “neutral” with respect CO2 emissions, responsible for the global warming. With about 55% carbon, they emit a similar amount of CO2 after degradation as absorbed during cultivation. Furthermore, they are not as energy intensive as synthetic fibers such as glass, carbon and aramid fibers during processing1616 Monteiro SN, Lopes FPD, Barbosa AP, Bavitori AB, Silva ILA and Costa LL. Natural lignocellulosic fibers as engineering materials —An Overview. Metallurgical and Materials Transactions. A, Physical Metallurgy and Materials Science. 2011; 42(10):2963-2974. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11661-011-0789-6.
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. In the past decades, a great number of works has been dedicated to polymer composites reinforced with lignocellulosic fibers. Several papers reviewed these composites1717 Satyanarayana KG, Sukumaran K, Mukherjee PS, Pavithran C and Pillai SGK. Natural fibre-polymer composites. Cement and Concrete Composites. 1990; 12(2):117-136. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0958-9465(90)90049-4.
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18 Bledzki AK and Gassan J. Composites reinforced with cellulose-based fibers. Progress in Polymer Science. 1999; 24(2):221-274. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0079-6700(98)00018-5.
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19 Nabi Sahed D and Jog JP. Natural fiber polymer composites: a review. Advances in Polymer Technology. 1999; 18(4):351-363. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1098-2329(199924)18:4<351::AID-ADV6>3.0.CO;2-X.
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20 Mohanty AK, Misra M and Hinrichsen G. Biofiber, biodegradable polymers and biocomposites: an overview. Macromolecular Materials and Engineering. 2000; 276-277(1):1-24. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1439-2054(20000301)276:1<1::AID-MAME1>3.0.CO;2-W.
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21 Eichhorn SJ, Baillie CA, Zafeiropoulos N, Mwaikambo LY, Ansell MP, Dufresne A, et al. Review – current international research into cellulosic fibres and composites. Journal of Materials Science. 2001; 36(9):2107-2131. http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1017512029696.
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22 Mohanty AK, Misra M and Drzal LT. Sustainable bio-composites from renewable resources: opportunities and challenges in the green materials world. Journal of Polymers and the Environment. 2002; 10(1/2):19-26. http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1021013921916.
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23 Netravali AN and Chabba S. Composites get greener. Materials Today. 2003; 6(4):22-29. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1369-7021(03)00427-9.
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24 Crocker J. Natural materials. Materials Technology. 2008; 23(3):174-178. http://dx.doi.org/10.1179/175355508X373378.
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26 Satyanarayana KG, Arizaga GGC and Wypych F. Biodegradable composites based on lignocellulosic fibers – an overview. Progress in Polymer Science. 2009; 34(9):982-1021. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.progpolymsci.2008.12.002.
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27 Monteiro SN, Lopes FPD, Ferreira AS and Nascimento DCO. Natural fiber polymer matrix composites: cheaper, tougher and environmentally friendly. JOM. 2009; 61(1):17-22. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11837-009-0004-z.
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28 Faruk O, Bledzki AK, Fink HP and Sain M. Biocomposites reinforced with natural fibers: 2000-2010. Progress in Polymer Science. 2012; 37(11):1552-1596. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.progpolymsci.2012.04.003.
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Among the most engineering applied plants, the well known bamboo, with rigid culms, has potential to be used as ballistic resistant material. As any plant, bamboo is basically formed by cellulose microfibrils embedded in hemicellulose and lignin1616 Monteiro SN, Lopes FPD, Barbosa AP, Bavitori AB, Silva ILA and Costa LL. Natural lignocellulosic fibers as engineering materials —An Overview. Metallurgical and Materials Transactions. A, Physical Metallurgy and Materials Science. 2011; 42(10):2963-2974. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11661-011-0789-6.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11661-011-078...

17 Satyanarayana KG, Sukumaran K, Mukherjee PS, Pavithran C and Pillai SGK. Natural fibre-polymer composites. Cement and Concrete Composites. 1990; 12(2):117-136. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0958-9465(90)90049-4.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0958-9465(90)9...

18 Bledzki AK and Gassan J. Composites reinforced with cellulose-based fibers. Progress in Polymer Science. 1999; 24(2):221-274. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0079-6700(98)00018-5.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0079-6700(98)...

19 Nabi Sahed D and Jog JP. Natural fiber polymer composites: a review. Advances in Polymer Technology. 1999; 18(4):351-363. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1098-2329(199924)18:4<351::AID-ADV6>3.0.CO;2-X.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1098-232...

20 Mohanty AK, Misra M and Hinrichsen G. Biofiber, biodegradable polymers and biocomposites: an overview. Macromolecular Materials and Engineering. 2000; 276-277(1):1-24. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1439-2054(20000301)276:1<1::AID-MAME1>3.0.CO;2-W.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1439-205...

21 Eichhorn SJ, Baillie CA, Zafeiropoulos N, Mwaikambo LY, Ansell MP, Dufresne A, et al. Review – current international research into cellulosic fibres and composites. Journal of Materials Science. 2001; 36(9):2107-2131. http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1017512029696.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:101751202969...

22 Mohanty AK, Misra M and Drzal LT. Sustainable bio-composites from renewable resources: opportunities and challenges in the green materials world. Journal of Polymers and the Environment. 2002; 10(1/2):19-26. http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1021013921916.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:102101392191...

23 Netravali AN and Chabba S. Composites get greener. Materials Today. 2003; 6(4):22-29. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1369-7021(03)00427-9.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1369-7021(03)...

24 Crocker J. Natural materials. Materials Technology. 2008; 23(3):174-178. http://dx.doi.org/10.1179/175355508X373378.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1179/175355508X3733...

25 John MJ and Thomas S. Biofibers and biocomposites. Carbohydrate Polymers. 2008; 71(3):343-364. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.carbpol.2007.05.040.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.carbpol.2007...

26 Satyanarayana KG, Arizaga GGC and Wypych F. Biodegradable composites based on lignocellulosic fibers – an overview. Progress in Polymer Science. 2009; 34(9):982-1021. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.progpolymsci.2008.12.002.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.progpolymsci...

27 Monteiro SN, Lopes FPD, Ferreira AS and Nascimento DCO. Natural fiber polymer matrix composites: cheaper, tougher and environmentally friendly. JOM. 2009; 61(1):17-22. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11837-009-0004-z.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11837-009-000...

28 Faruk O, Bledzki AK, Fink HP and Sain M. Biocomposites reinforced with natural fibers: 2000-2010. Progress in Polymer Science. 2012; 37(11):1552-1596. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.progpolymsci.2012.04.003.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.progpolymsci...
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/sc500087z...
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. A stronger specie of giant bamboo (Dendrocalamus giganteous Munro) has recently attracted attention for its relevant properties4646 Martins LBS, Monteiro SN, Margem FM, Loiola RL, Pereira AC and Margem JI. Weibull analysis of the elastic modulus of bamboo fibers of the species . In: Dendrocalamus giganteusHwang J-Y, Bai C, Carpenter JS, Ikhmayies S, Li B, Monteiro SN, et al. editors. Characterization of minerals, metals & materials 2013. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons; 2013. p. 441-448.

47 Monteiro SN, Margem FM, Martins LBS, Loiola RL and Oliveira MP. Dynamic mechanical analysis of polyester composites reinforced with giant bamboo (Dendrocalamus giganteus) fiber. Materials Science Forum. 2014; 775-776:302-307. http://dx.doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/MSF.775-776.302.
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, including the impact resistance4949 Martins LBS, Margem FM, Monteiro SN, Loiola RL and Margem JI. Izod impact test of polyester composites reinforced with bamboo fibers of the species . In: Dendrocalamus giganteusHwang J-Y, Bai C, Carpenter JS, Ikhmayies S, Li B, Monteiro SN, et al. editors. Characterization of minerals, metals & materials 2014. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons; 2013. p. 581-587..

A systematic investigation on the ballistic properties of natural fiber reinforced polymer composites has already been conducted by Wambua et al.5050 Wambua P, Vangrimde B, Lomov S and Verpoest I. The response of natural fibre composites to ballistic impact by fragment simulating projectiles. Composite Structures. 2007; 77(2):232-240. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.compstruct.2005.07.006.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.compstruct.2...
. Relevant information on the ballistic impact velocity and energy related to natural fiber composites was presented by the authors but it was not their scope to assess the performance of natural fiber composites as armor for personal protection.

In the present work, the ballistic performance of multilayered armors composed of a front ceramic, an intermediate composite and aluminum layers was investigated in terms of the intrusions caused by the projectile into a clay witness simulating a personal body. Ballistic tests were conducted in MAS’s with a front Al2O3 ceramic tile. As the following intermediate layer, lighter giant bamboo fiber reinforced epoxy composite plates were compared to plain epoxy plates and aramid fiber plies, all with the same thickness.

2 Material and Methods

The multilayered armor system (MAS) arrangement used in this investigation was the following: the front layer was a 15 mm thick hexagonal tile with 31mm of side dimension made of 4 wt% Nb2O5 doped Al2O3 brittle ceramic. The ceramic tile was fabricated by sintering Al2O3 powder supplied by Treibacher Schleifmittel as commercial purity mixed with Nb2O5 powder supplied by CBMM as 99% pro-analysis. Sintering was conducted at 1,400 °C for 3 hour under air in the Ceramic Laboratory of the Military Institute of Engineering (IME), city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The intermediate layer, with 10 mm in thickness and square sides with 150 mm, was either: (i) 16 plies of aramid fabric, or (ii) a plate of 30 vol % of continuous and aligned giant bamboo fibers reinforced epoxy matrix composite (giant bamboo composite for short), or (iii) a plate of plain epoxy. The aramid fabric plies were supplied by the LFJ Blindagem Com. Serv. S.A., as compressed pieces with very little, less than 1%, epoxy adhesive, as indicated by the supplier. Giant bamboo culms were kindly donated by Prof. Khosrow Ghavami from the plantation existing at the Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio). At IME, giant bamboo fibers were smoothly sliced from the culm, starting with a razor and following the continuous tendency to longitudinally separate neighbors vascular bundles. These fibers were obtained with a length corresponding to the extension of the culm, around 15 cm, but with their naturally different diameters. The diameters, average of width and thickness, measured by profile projector, were found to vary from 100 to 700 μm with an average of 400 μm4646 Martins LBS, Monteiro SN, Margem FM, Loiola RL, Pereira AC and Margem JI. Weibull analysis of the elastic modulus of bamboo fibers of the species . In: Dendrocalamus giganteusHwang J-Y, Bai C, Carpenter JS, Ikhmayies S, Li B, Monteiro SN, et al. editors. Characterization of minerals, metals & materials 2013. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons; 2013. p. 441-448.. Figure 1 illustrates: (a) the microstructure of typical thin bamboo fiber with microfibrils and few residual parenchyma cells and (b) the fracture tip of a thicker fiber displaying vascular bundle. No chemical treatment was applied to the individual fibers. Bamboo fibers were dried at 60° C in a laboratory stove for 2 hours and aligned with the correct amount of 30 vol% inside a steel mold. An initially fluid diglycidyl ether of the bisphenol-A (DGEBA) epoxy resin, mixed with a phr 13 stoichiometric fraction of trietylene tetramine (TETA) as hardener, was poured onto the mold. A pressure of 5 MPa was applied and the composite plate cured for 24 hours.

Figure 1
The giant bamboo: (a) SEM of a thin bamboo fiber and (b) fracture tip of a thicker bamboo fiber. Source: authors.

Figure 2 shows: (a) the epoxy composite production scheme with 5 layers of aligned fibers and (b) a finished composite plate. In a similar procedure, plain DGEBA/TETA epoxy plates were also fabricated. The back end-layer was a 150 mm × 150 mm 5052 H34 aluminum alloy (Al) sheet with 5 mm in thickness. These layers were bonded together with commercial Sikaflex™ glue from Sika Co.

Figure 2
Giant bamboo fiber composite: (a) schematic production and (b) epoxy composite plate. Source: authors.

In direct contact with the Al sheet back end-layer, a block of clay witness simulated a personal body protected by the MAS. The clay witness was warmed to 40°C according to specifications and compressed to avoid air bubbles. The clay was commercially supplied by Americanas Express. The depth of intrusion in the clay duplicates the plastic deformation imposed by the fragments, generated from the projectile impact, on the Al sheet. The corresponding depth, Figure 3, was measured with a special Mitutoyo caliper with an accuracy of 0.01 mm. A minimum of 10 measurements was performed for each depth of intrusion and the values were analyzed by means of the Weibull statistic method. This provided confidence indexes R2 greater than 0.9. The microstructure of giant bamboo fibers and fracture details of the composites and aramid fabric after ballistic tests were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) in a 6460 LV JEOL and a Quanta FEG 250 FEI microscopes.

Figure 3
Measurement of the depth in the clay witness caused by the projectile impact. Source: authors.

Figure 4 illustrates the actual front view of a clamped MAS ready to be ballistic tested. Ballistic tests were carried out at the Brazilian Army shooting range facility, CAEX, in the Marambaia peninsula, Rio de Janeiro. All tests, 10 for each type of MAS, were performed according to the NIJ 0101.03 and NIJ 0101.04 standards using 7.62 × 51 mm NATO military ammunition, with 9.7 g copper projectile shot from a gun barrel.

Figure 4
Actual view of a clamped MAS with giant bamboo composite plate ready to be ballistic tested. Laser beam focusing in the center of the ceramic plate as sight. Source: authors.

3 Results and Discussion

Table 1 presents the average depth of intrusions measured in the clay witness for the different MAS target investigated. In this table, some points are worth discussing. The three materials tested as the intermediate layer that follows the front ceramic layer showed corresponding depth below the NIJ standard 0101.06 limit of 44 mm for serious blunt trauma. Indeed, all ballistic tests conducted in the MAS’s failed to perforate the target. Consequently, the projectile was always stopped and its kinetic energy was dissipated inside the multilayered armor in association with the depth in the clay witness, as shown in Figure 3. In Table 1, the aramid fabric with 22.67 mm displays the greatest depth in comparison to both the giant bamboo composite with 17.58 mm and the plain epoxy with 19.84 mm.

Table 1
Average depth of intrusion in the clay witness backing different multilayered armors.

Within the interval of Weibull precision, the bamboo fiber composite has a statistically smaller depth than the aramid fabric but similar to the plain epoxy. The reason for this behavior can be attributed to a recently proposed mechanism of ballistic fragments captured by the aramid fabric layer5151 Monteiro SN, Lima ÉP, Louro LHL, Silva LC and Drelich JW. Unlocking function of aramid fibers in multilayered ballistic armor. Metallurgical and Materials Transactions. A, Physical Metallurgy and Materials Science. 2015; 46(1):37-40. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11661-014-2678-2.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11661-014-267...
. The giant bamboo composite depth corresponds to a 22% better ballistic performance, as compared to the aramid fiber. This is a surprising result since the aramid (~4,000 MPa) is much stronger than the epoxy (~90 MPa) and the giant bamboo fiber (~200 MPa) . However, the capture of fragments and the impact energy absorption by the giant bamboo fiber reinforced composite, Figure 2b, are apparently more effective mechanism than the corresponding in the aramid fabric5151 Monteiro SN, Lima ÉP, Louro LHL, Silva LC and Drelich JW. Unlocking function of aramid fibers in multilayered ballistic armor. Metallurgical and Materials Transactions. A, Physical Metallurgy and Materials Science. 2015; 46(1):37-40. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11661-014-2678-2.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11661-014-267...
. Indeed, Figure 5 shows that the composite (a) displays more fragments and decohesion than the aramid fiber (b). Furthermore, the giant bamboo composite is significantly lighter and less expensive than the aramid fabric. These might be considered as practical advantages in favor of giant bamboo composites over aramid fabric plies.

Figure 5
SEM of ballistic fracture of (a) giant bamboo fiber reinforced epoxy composite and (b) aramid fabric in a MAS. Source: authors.

For quantitative discussion, Table 2 presents the parameters that allow a calculation of the weight and cost of each different MAS investigated. Values for the parameters used in this table were given by the suppliers or obtained from the literature5252 Satyanarayana KG, Guimarães JL and Wypych F. Studies on lignocellulosic fibers of Brazil. Part I: sources, production, morphology, properties and applications. Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing. 2007; 38(7):1694-1709. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesa.2007.02.006.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesa....
. Although the actual Al2O3 ceramic used in the armor was a smaller hexagonal tile, for practical condition, its calculated face area was considered covering the whole 15 cm × 15 cm of the target. In Table 2, it should be noticed that the MAS with giant bamboo composite represents more than 4% of decrease in total weight of the armor. In addition, it also corresponds to more than 31% of decrease in total cost. In a real situation, the approximately 22% superior ballistic performance of the giant bamboo composite, Table 1, which is within the NIJ limits, together with 5% lightness and 31% economical advantages, Table 2, favor its substitution for the aramid fiber in a MAS for personal protection. These comments are restricted to the 7.62 × 51 mm NATO ammunition used in the present ballistic tests.

Table 2
Evaluation f weight and cost of the different multilayered armors.

4 Conclusions

  • An epoxy matrix composite reinforced with giant bamboo fiber in substitution for conventional aramid fabric plies, with same total thickness, in a multilayered armor for personal protections attended the NIJ trauma limit after ballistic tests with high velocity 7.62 × 51 mm ammunition.

  • The ballistic performance of the giant bamboo composite is 22% superior (lower depth of intrusion in clay witness) than the aramid fabric with the additional advantages of being 4% lighter and 31% cheaper.

  • In principle, both technical and economical reasons support the replacement of aramid fabric, as second layer backing the front ceramic in a mass, by giant bamboo reinforced epoxy composite , in which the natural fiber is also environmentally friendly.

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the support to this investigation by the Brazilian agencies: CNPq, CAPES and FAPERJ. It is also acknowledged the permission to the use of the SEM microscope by the PEMM from COPPE/UFRJ.

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Publication Dates

  • Publication in this collection
    23 Oct 2015
  • Date of issue
    Dec 2015

History

  • Received
    07 Nov 2014
  • Reviewed
    28 Apr 2015
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