Ballistic behavior of epoxy matrix composites reinforced with piassava fiber against high energy ammunition

Multilayered Armor Systems are low density plates used in personal protection against high-impact energy ammunition. Such system promotes effective protection, by dissipating the projectile energy and preventing the penetration of fragments. Kevlar™ is commonly used as one of the layers. However, recently, cost-effectives composites reinforced with natural fibers have been considered as an alternative. This work aimed to evaluate the performance of epoxy matrix composites reinforced with stiffer natural piassava fibers as a standing alone target against high energy ammunition. Composites with up to 50vol% of piassava fibers were produced by press molding. The influence of the volume fraction in the main failure mode observed and the limit velocity ballistic parameter were determined. Macro and microscopically analyses were performed to determinate the failure mechanism. Statistical analyses were used to evaluate the results obtained. It was verified that the 50vol% reinforced composites were those that presented the best performance, which was found comparable to the results obtained for Kevlar™.