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Natural Curaua Fiber-Reinforced Composites in Multilayered Ballistic Armor

  • Symposium: Dynamic Behavior of Materials VI
  • Published:
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Abstract

The performance of a novel multilayered armor in which the commonly used plies of aramid fabric layer were replaced by an equal thickness layer of distinct curaua fiber-reinforced composites with epoxy or polyester matrices was assessed. The investigated armor, in addition to its polymeric layer (aramid fabric or curaua composite), was also composed of a front Al2O3 ceramic tile and backed by an aluminum alloy sheet. Ballistic impact tests were performed with actual 7.62 caliber ammunitions. Indentation in a clay witness, simulating human body behind the back layer, attested the efficacy of the curaua-reinforced composite as an armor component. The conventional aramid fabric display a similar indentation as the curaua/polyester composite but was less efficient (deeper indentation) than the curaua/epoxy composite. This advantage is shown to be significant, especially in favor of the lighter and cheaper epoxy composite reinforced with 30 vol pct of curaua fiber, as possible substitute for aramid fabric in multilayered ballistic armor for individual protection. Scanning electron microscopy revealed the mechanism associated with the curaua composite ballistic performance.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the support to this investigation by the Brazilian agencies CNPq, CAPES, and FAPERJ.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Military Institute of Engineering-IME, Praça General Tibúrcio, 80, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 22290-270, Brazil

    Sergio Neves Monteiro (Professor), Luis Henrique Leme Louro (Professor), Willian Trindade (Professor), Carlos Nelson Elias (Professor), Carlos Luiz Ferreira (Professor), Eduardo de Sousa Lima (Professor), Ricardo Pondé Weber (Professor), João Carlos Miguez Suarez (Professor), André Ben-Hur da Silva Figueiredo (Professor), Wagner Anacleto Pinheiro (Professor), Luis Carlos da Silva (Ph.D. Student) & Édio Pereira Lima Jr. (Professor)

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  1. Sergio Neves Monteiro
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  2. Luis Henrique Leme Louro
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  12. Édio Pereira Lima Jr.
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Correspondence to Sergio Neves Monteiro.

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Manuscript submitted April 24, 2014.

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Monteiro, S.N., Louro, L.H.L., Trindade, W. et al. Natural Curaua Fiber-Reinforced Composites in Multilayered Ballistic Armor. Metall Mater Trans A 46, 4567–4577 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11661-015-3032-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11661-015-3032-z

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