Dynamic Tests on Polyurea-Based Hybrid Composites for Ballistic Protection

Abstract

Due to its chemical and mechanical properties, polyurea gains more and more interest in military applications. In this study, polyurea and carbon nanotubes were processed as coating polymer composites for ballistic plates and/or packages, in order to increase their protection potential, meanwhile maintaining an appropriate weight and an economic accessibility. In this respect, the composite material was layered on various commercially-available materials and various thicknesses and further, the performances of the products obtained were tested in order to assess their behavior against traumas produced by shockwave, blunt, shooting and fragment.

Recent Developments in Polyurea Research for Enhanced Impact Penetration Resistance and Blast Mitigation

“…Polyurea exhibits over 91% shock wave overpressure attenuation when subjected to explosions, making it suitable for various applications including explosion-proof protective panels [66,[95][96][97][98]. D. Mohotti et al [99] conducted an experiment where they exposed steel sheets coated with polyurea to near-field blast loading.…”

Polyurea for Blast and Impact Protection: A Review

“…The mechanical properties of polyurea can be tuned by choosing different variations of diamines and diisocyanates as well as by adding assorted nano-inclusions and micro-inclusions to create polyurea-based composites [5,66,67]. Nano-inclusions and micro-inclusions dispersed in the matrix can also improve the interfacial strength of the material, resulting in some enhancement [68].…”

“…The results show that the composites provide more than the maximum protection time foreseen by the international standards (24 h) for a contamination density of 50 g/m 2 of persistent chemical warfare agents (CWAs) and that reinforced polyurea can be used to manufacture individual and collective protection equipment against CWAs. Following this, Petre et al [67] carried out experiments on the impact resistance of MWCNT-OH-polyurea, and the ballistic imprints, as a consequence of shooting, were reduced by more than 60%.…”

State-of-the-Art Polyurea Coatings: Synthesis Aspects, Structure–Properties Relationship, and Nanocomposites for Ballistic Protection Applications

“…However, there is a relatively small number of published papers that explore the behavior of polyurea-coated metallic substrates subjected to localized loads generated from bullet impact. When subjected to high-velocity impact, polyurea coatings could improve the penetration/fragmentation resistance of the underlying substrate, depending on the following parameters: thickness of the polyurea coating [24], number of layers and configuration of the composite, dissipation of the localized shock wave (Scheme 3) through multiple reflections as it traverses the composite [25], T g and a viscoelastic transition of the elastomer to its glassy state due to the localized loading resulting from the impact of a high-speed projectile [23], dynamics of hard/soft segments and hydrogen bonding [26,27], etc. Relatively recent studies [21,22] sustain that the explosion shock wave determines a reordering at a molecular level; thus, the molecular rearrangement and neutralization appear to be events dominated by energy dissipation during impact.…”