Dynamic response of UHMWPE plates under combined shock and fragment loading

Ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene(UHMWPE)fiber composite has been extensively used to construct lightweight protective structures against ballistic impacts,yet little is known about its performance when subjected to combined blast and fragment impacts.Built upon a recently developed laboratory-scale experimental technique to generate simulated combined loading through the impact of a fragment-foam composite projectile launched from a light gas gun,the dynamic responses of fullyclamped UHMWPE plates subjected to combined loading were characterized experimentally,with corresponding deformation and failure modes compared with those measured with simulated blast loading alone.Subsequently,to explore the underlying physical mechanisms,three-dimensional(3D)numerical simulations with the method of finite elements(FE)were systematically carried out.Numerical predictions compared favorably well with experimental measurements,thus validating the feasibility of the established FE model.Relative to the case of blast loading alone,combined blast and fragment loading led to larger maximum deflections of clamped UHMWPE plates.The position of the FSP in the foam sabot affected significantly the performance of a UHMWPE target,either enhancing or decreasing its ballistic resistance.When the blast loading and fragment impact arrived simultaneously at the target,its ballistic resistance was superior to that achieved when subjected to fragment impact alone,and benefited from the accelerated movement of the target due to simultaneous blast loading.

Out-of-Plane Compressive Behavior for UHMWPE/Polyurethane Composites after Hygrothermal Treatment

Quasi-static and high strain rate compressive behaviors and failure mechanisms of hygrothermal treated ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene/polyurethane(UHMWPE/PU)composites have been studied in this paper.Firstly,the UHMWPE composites were immersed in water at 70℃.The out-ofplane compression test was then performed on the dry/wet state specimens at quasi-static states(0.001-0.01 s^(-1))and high strain rate states(800-2 400 s^(-1)).The split Hopkinson pressure bar(SHPB)was adopted in the dynamic tests and waveform shapers were used to smooth and control the incident pulse.The results show that there are two platforms for the water absorption curve of UHMWPE composites.The absorption of moisture reduces the quasi-static compressive strength of the material while initially increasing,then decreasing the dynamic compressive strength.Matrix plasticization,fiber/matrix interface degradation and void expansion are the main factors affecting the irregular change of static/dynamic compressive strength of UHMWPE composites.

Progressive Failure Analysis of Quasi-isotropic Self-reinforced Polyethylene Composites by Comparing Unsupervised and Supervised Classifications of Acoustic Emission Data

Unsupervised and supervised pattern recognition( PR)techniques are used to classify the acoustic emission( AE) data originating from the quasi-isotropic self-reinforced polyethylene composites,in order to identify the various mechanisms in the multiangle-ply thermoplastic composites. Ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene / low density polyethylene( UHMWPE / LDPE)composites were made and tested under quasi-static tensile load. The failure process was monitored by the AE technique. The collected AE signals were classified by unsupervised and supervised PR techniques, respectively. AE signals were clustered with unsupervised PR scheme automatically and mathematically. While in the supervised PR scheme,the labeled AE data from simple lay-up UHMWPE / LDPE laminates were utilized as the reference data.Comparison was drawn according to the analytical results. Fracture surfaces of the UHMWPE / LDPE specimens were observed by a scanning electron microscope( SEM) for some physical support. By combining both classification results with the observation results,correlations were established between the AE signal classes and their originating damage modes. The comparison between the two classifying schemes showed a good agreement in the main damage modes and their failure process. It indicates both PR techniques are powerful for the complicated thermoplastic composites. Supervised PR scheme can lead to a more precise classification in that a suitable reference data set is input.