Buriti Fabric Reinforced Epoxy Composites as a Novel Ballistic Component of a Multilayered Armor System

Luana Cristyne da Cruz Demosthenes, Fernanda Santos da Luz (), Lucio Fabio Cassiano Nascimento and Sergio Neves Monteiro
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Luana Cristyne da Cruz Demosthenes: Department of Materials Science, Military Institute of Engineering—IME, Praça General Tibúrcio 80, Urca, Rio de Janeiro 22290-270, Brazil
Fernanda Santos da Luz: Department of Materials Science, Military Institute of Engineering—IME, Praça General Tibúrcio 80, Urca, Rio de Janeiro 22290-270, Brazil
Lucio Fabio Cassiano Nascimento: Department of Materials Science, Military Institute of Engineering—IME, Praça General Tibúrcio 80, Urca, Rio de Janeiro 22290-270, Brazil
Sergio Neves Monteiro: Department of Materials Science, Military Institute of Engineering—IME, Praça General Tibúrcio 80, Urca, Rio de Janeiro 22290-270, Brazil

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 17, 1-15

Abstract: Buriti Fibers extracted from the leafstalk of palm tree, Mauritia flexuosa , native to the Amazon region, have been investigated as a reinforcement of polymer matrix composites. Recently, the fabric made from buriti fibers was also studied as a possible reinforcement of epoxy composites. In particular, the preliminary results of a 10 vol% buriti fabric epoxy composite in a multilayered armor system (MAS) displayed a satisfactory backface signature (BFS) but the composite target was not able to preserve its integrity after the ballistic impact. This motivated the present work, in which we carry out a complete statistical investigation of the ballistic performance of 10, 20, and 30 vol% buriti fabric epoxy composites as a MAS second layer against 7.62 mm rifle ammunition. BFS, associated with the depth of penetration in a clay witness simulating a human body, disclosed values of 18.9 to 25 mm, statistically similar and well below the lethal value of 44 mm specified by the international standard. Absorbed energy in stand-alone ballistic tests of 163–190 J for armor perforation were also found to be statistically higher than 58 ± 29 J obtained for the conventionally applied synthetic aramid fabric. The 30 vol% buriti fabric composites maintained the integrity of the MAS second layer, as required for use in body armor. Failure mechanisms found for the 10 vol% and 20 vol% buriti fabric composites by macro analysis and scanning electron microscopy confirmed the importance of a higher amount such as 30 vol% in order to achieve effective ballistic protection.

Keywords: buriti fabric; epoxy composite; multilayered armor; ballistic test (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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