Development of a Simplified Numerical Model to Characterize the Ballistic Behaviour of Woven Fabrics

In computational simulations of ballistic impact on woven fabric, the idealization of fabric structures is very important. In the available literature, several attempts have been made using commercial finite element packages. Those studies typically result in either overly simplified models or fully discretized 3D models that are prohibitively computationally intensive. The present study provides a simplified finite element model of plain-woven fabric, which is developed based on characterizing the behaviour in the pull-out test. The warp and weft yarns are modelled independently with straight elastic bars by 1D truss elements, representing the straightened crimped yarns. The orthogonally arranged weft and warp yarns are connected through viscoelastic interaction at crossovers. The required interaction parameters of the viscoelastic system at crossover points are obtained using the pull-out test data. The obtained results of the simplified model in terms of the deformation history of the fabric target and residual velocity history of the projectile are in reasonable congruence with the experimental and other numerical observations reported in the literature. The proposed idealization is computationally efficient and may be further explored to model more complicated weave patterns, for which 3D modelling, so far, is the only viable option.