Obtaining and characterizing tridirectional aramid fiber multilayered fabric for ballistic shielding application

ABSTRACT

The use of fabrics in the processing of composite materials is already a reality due to the attractive mechanical properties that this type of reinforcement adds to the final material and the greater ease of processing. However, laminated composites are susceptible to failure by delamination between the layers. In this case, the use of reinforcements based on tridirectional multilayer fabrics (3D-fabrics) with filaments in orthogonal directions could better contribute in order to enhance composite performance, reducing this type of failure. However, access to 3D-fabrics is still very restricted worldwide, due to the technological complexity involved in processing. For this purpose, the present work aims to contribute to composite processing area by producing a 3D-fabric with aramid fibers. The fabric was obtained through the production and combination of 6 layers of bidirectional fabric, simultaneously with the bonding of the layers by warp filaments, a process carried out in a single step. For this, a conventional loom was adapted and the 3D-fabric manufactured was characterized by typical tests in the textile industry, as grammage, linear density, and thickness, additionally stereoscopy analysis, tensile and drop tests were assessed. The stereoscopic analysis has revealed details from transversal and orthogonal directions of the fabric, which associated with the textile industry test results proved the success of manufactured 3D-fabric, with physical characteristics consistent with the intended arrangement. Comparatively, the results of tensile strength showed that the 3D-fabric has greater elongation than the commercial 2D-fabric. Under 40 J impact, 3D-fabric withstood without perforation and delamination between layers, an improvement when compared to 2D-fabric.

Keywords
Tridirection reinforcement; 3D-fabric; Aramid fibers; Tridirection multilayer fabric