A Numerical Simulation on Ballistic Penetration Damage of 3D Orthogonal Woven Fabric at Microstructure Level

The ballistic impact damages of 3D orthogonal woven fabric (3DOWF) penetrated under a conically cylindrical rigid projectile were investigated from experimental tests and finite element simulations. A microstructure model of the 3DOWF was established and imported into finite element geometrical preprocessor. In the microstructure model, the architecture of the 3DOWF has the same spatial configurations with that of the real 3DOWF, including the spatial distributions and cross-sections of warp, weft yarns, and Z-yarns. Mechanical parameters of the yarns were obtained from high-strain rate tests which near to the impact loading condition in ballistic tests. The impact damage evolutions of the 3DOWF were simulated with the commercial finite element code ABAQUS/Explicit. From the comparisons of damage morphologies and residual velocities of the projectile after perforation between experimental and finite element simulation, it was found that the simulation can reflect the impact damage precisely. Furthermore, the stress wave propagation and damage mechanisms can be revealed from the microstructure model. Insights gained from this study will prove extremely useful in further material and architectural studies that will ultimately lead to optimization of the 3DOWF structure.