Analysis of ballistic performance and penetration damage mechanisms of aramid woven fabric reinforced polycarbonate composites with different matrix content

High-performance lightweight ballistic composites have attracted much attention. The amount of matrix is al-ways a principal factor influencing ballistic performance. However, the effect of matrix content on the ballistic properties of composites has not been studied deeply. In this work, polycarbonate, a potential matrix for ballistic composites, was introduced in the aramid fabric reinforced composites (AF/PCC) for ballistic protection because of its excellent impact resistance. AF/PCC with different matrix content were designed to investigate the ballistic performance and damage mechanism deeply by combining quasi-static tests, ballistic test and numerical simu-lation. The results revealed that neat fabrics exhibited optimal ballistic performance, with the main damage mechanism being yarns tensile breakage. The presence of matrix in composites reduced the ballistic performance of neat fabrics. The surplus matrix (more than 20 wt%) enhanced composite stiffness, thereby inhibiting the delamination and bending deformation of the composites, which was similar to thermosetting matrix composites, reducing energy absorption. As the matrix content decreased from 30 wt% to 10 wt%, the main ballistic damage mechanisms of AF/PCC changed from compression-shear failure to delamination and tensile failure. The analysis of matrix content on ballistic performance provides an efficient guideline for better design of ballistic composites.