Sustainable innovation in ballistic vest design: Exploration of polyurethane-coated hemp fabrics and reinforced sandwich epoxy composites against 9 mm and .40 S&W bullets

Tannachart WANTANG; Manop PIPATHATTAKUL; Fasai WIWATWONGWANA

doi:10.55713/jmmm.v33i4.1830

ผู้แต่ง

Tannachart WANTANG Department of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, Faculty of Engineering, Pathumwan Institute of Technology, Bangkok 10330, Thailand. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8391-637X
Manop PIPATHATTAKUL Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Pathumwan Institute of Technology, Bangkok 10330, Thailand.
Fasai WIWATWONGWANA Department of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, Faculty of Engineering, Pathumwan Institute of Technology, Bangkok 10330

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.55713/jmmm.v33i4.1830

คำสำคัญ:

Bulletproof vests, Hemp fabrics, Sandwich reinforcement, Gelatin blocks

บทคัดย่อ

This research aimed to evaluate the bulletproof capabilities of hemp fabrics and optimize the design factors for effective ballistic vests. Three main aspects were investigated: enhancing toughness with polyurethane-coated hemp fabrics, determining optimal placement of fabric-reinforced hemp epoxy composites in various configurations, and identifying the optimal number of fabric layers for performance against 9 mm and .40 S&W bullets. Penetration depth was measured in ballistic gelatin to analyze the results. The study showed strong statistical correlations between factor variables and penetration depth shifts. The most effective strategies included polyurethane-coated hemp on all layers and increased layering. The ammunition of 9 mm bullets exhibited the least penetration depth when tested against the sandwich-reinforced configuration. In contrast, the larger .40 S&W bullets demonstrated that the frontal arrangement yielded the minimum penetration depth. Notably, 9 mm bullets penetrated 1.25 times deeper than .40 S&W bullets. These findings emphasize hemp fabric's potential for reliable ballistic vests. Utilizing polyurethane-coated hemp fabric in epoxy composites within a sandwich reinforcement of at least 212 layers is recommended to stop 9 mm bullets effectively. The research contributes valuable insights to sustainable ballistic vest development, utilizing natural materials with exceptional bullet protection capabilities.

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ประวัติผู้แต่ง

Manop PIPATHATTAKUL, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Pathumwan Institute of Technology, Bangkok 10330, Thailand.

Lecherer, Pathumwan Institute of Technology, Bangkok.

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