Computational analysis of shear thickening fluid impregnated fabrics subjected to ballistic impacts

Abstract

The impregnation of shear thickening fluid (STF) into high-tenacity fabrics has drawn research attention, because it enhances the ballistic performance of fabrics without inducing loss of flexibility in the fabrics. The performance enhancement provided by the STF is suspected to be due to the increased frictional interaction between yarns in impregnated fabrics. In order to explore the mechanism of this enhanced energy absorption, a computational analysis has been performed to consider the effect of STF impregnation on the ballistic performance of STF impregnated fabrics, and the results are reported here. The computational model to account for STF impregnation was implemented into the explicit analysis code LS-DYNA by employing the experimental results of yarn pull-out tests to characterize the frictional behavior of the STF impregnated fabric. The results of a ballistic impact test were used to validate the computational model that takes into account STF impregnation effect. The computational analysis model proposed here to account for the effect of STF impregnation on the ballistic performance of STF impregnated high-tenacity fabrics is shown to reflect the experimental observations of STF impregnated fabrics subjected to ballistic tests.