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

Ballistic impact tests were conducted on polymer-coated multi-layer fabric targets using 0.357 SIG projectiles. The effect of fatigue loading on the yarn pull-out force of coated Twaron fabrics was studied for the first time. A validated mesoscale numerical modelling approach was developed to simulate the ballistic impact. The elastomeric coating significantly improved impact resistance. The coating is stable in a wide range of ambient temperatures and performs well upon being subjected to fatigue. A coated target having 6.6% less areal density and 20% less thickness than its neat counterpart has shown similar ballistic limit velocity. • The number of rubber coatings positively affected the peak pull-out force (PPF). • PPF was 25%–30% higher in dynamic tests than in quasi-static tests. • PPF exhibited no sensitivity to ambient temperature up to 60 °C. • Application of a fatigue loading reduced the PPF by 14% • Coated target exhibited a 7% weight reduction but performed equally to neat target.