Ballistic Impact Dynamic Modeling of Fabric for New Protection Systems

This SBIR proposal is concerned with the development of design and analysis tools for the assessment of new protection systems against ballistic impact based on novel textile material systems. The approach is to develop an integrated simulation facility including the physic-based models for textile-based materials and the state-of-the-art of simulation techniques for describing ballistic and blast scenarios. This computational tool, WovenShield, will allow the study, analyze and quantitatively assess the penetration-resistance performance of different fiber/layer/inclusion configurations under a wide range of penetration conditions and projectile characteristics. The proposed program will advance the state-of-the-art in computational mechanics to enable the virtual assessment of novel fabric/textile materials and systems in ballistic impact scenarios as required by the next generation of simulation tools in the U.S. Army. The facility envisioned by this proposal will greatly improve the U.S. Army's ability to predict damage in protective systems, and will provide a versatile framework for science-based design of the new generation of blast-resistant survivable systems. The proposed work has significant applications in the developing industries related to homeland security e.g. assisting in the design of personnel armor.