Ballistic Behavior of Heracron super(&reg)-Based Composites: Effect of the Number Multifilaments on High-Speed Projectiles

In this study, two Heracron super() super(&)regwoven fabrics, HT840-1 and HT840-2, were fabricated with different multifilament fibers, and their resistance to ballistic impact was investigated. For the same weight and number of plies, the HT840-2 fabric showed improved ballistic properties, compared with HT840-1; this result is contrary to the fiber and fabric properties. With the exception of the yarn's physical properties, this behavior can be explained in terms of the number of multifilaments, which strongly influenced the ballistic mechanism, i.e. a greater number of multifilament fibers facilitates energy dissipation from a high-speed ballistic projectile. In summary, establishing this optimal number of multifilaments is the key to optimizing the ballistic properties of any given fabric.