Ballistic Penetration Performance of a Unidirectional Woven Basalt Fiber Laminated Protective Armor

Contemporary military and other law enforcement operations are technology-driven with weapons and ammunition that demand a flexible, damage- and moisture-resistant, and lightweight protective materials with superior energy absorbing capacity. Ballistic fabrics made from high performance synthetic fibers such as para-aramid and natural fibers including basalt, and composites utilizing these fabrics, are among the leading materials for armor systems. Basalt fibers, which are extracted from igneous volcanic rocks, are natural fibers with mechanical and thermo-physical properties that are generally comparable or superior to glass and other synthetic fibers at a lower cost. This gives basalt-based composites an edge over existing materials for potential application as anti-ballistic protective panels. The aim of the present study is to experimentally determine the V50 performance and penetration resistance of a unidirectional woven basalt fiber laminated epoxy system at three different combinations of ply orientations [0, 45 and 90 degrees at both CW and CCW directions] consisting of 48 layers of the woven fabric. The V50 performance test was conducted in accordance to the MIL-STD-662F standard using the Universal Test Gun model UZ-2002. The V50 ballistic velocity are computed based on a minimum of six shots including three complete penetrations and three partial penetrations. The optimum number of layers of the basalt fabric to sustain the reference penetration velocity of 367 m/s corresponding to threat level II of the NIJ Standard-0101.04 are calculated for the current test specimen for future development.