THE EFFECT OF NANO TIC IMPREGNATION ON KEVLARS AND THE NUMBER OF LAYERS ON BALLISTIC PROPERTIES OF LAMINATE HYBRID COMPOSITE

The remarkably advanced military technology allows innovation in new lighter materials for combat vehicles, such as laminate composite, which is fabricated from AA2024 metal sheet and Kevlar smeared with epoxy resin. This research identified the effect of the addition of ceramic nano-powder on its ability to absorb ballistic energy from projectiles. The powder used, TiC, was mixed with PEG-400 to form Solid Thickening Fluid (STF), which later was impregnated on the Kevlar sheet. The ability of STF-impregnated composite to absorb energy was compared with the non-impregnated one, with variations in the number of layers of 10, 20, and 30 Kevlar sheets. To obtain the exact level of absorbed energy, there were two tests conducted; ballistic test with NIJ 0108.01 Type II standard using P1 handgun with 10 m range, and impact test with ASTM E23 standard using 300-joule pendulum. Furthermore, the SEM test was conducted on the composite to identify the distribution of nano ceramic powder on Kevlar as well as macro photos to determine the type of failure after ballistic and impact tests. The addition of TiC and the number of Kevlar sheets on sample results showed an acceptable result on ballistic, and impact tests.