TY - GEN
T1 - Ballistic Performance of UHMWPE-Polyurethane Foam Composite Structures
AU - Wang, Fang
AU - Lei, Jieqiong
AU - Huang, Guangyan
AU - Bian, Xiaobing
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2026.
PY - 2026
Y1 - 2026
N2 - This study investigates the ballistic performance of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) and polyurethane (PU) foam composite structures against high-speed fragments. Different configurations were designed, with the PU foam placed at the front, interlayer, and rear positions. The core objective is to systematically evaluate the influence of PU foam placement on the overall protection mechanism. The ballistic performance was analyzed through numerical simulation and validated by experiment, with results showing good agreement. The findings indicate that the introduction of PU foam interlayer can alter the dynamic response. It effectively disrupts the continuous propagation of stress wave within the UHMWPE fiber layers, while also providing deformation space for the fibers. This mechanism significantly enhances the energy-absorption efficiency of the rear UHMWPE plies. The ballistic limit velocity (V50) was enhanced by 7.0% through structural optimization. The work provides practical design guidelines and a reliable engineering reference for developing lightweight, high-performance ballistic protection configurations for personnel and critical equipment.
AB - This study investigates the ballistic performance of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) and polyurethane (PU) foam composite structures against high-speed fragments. Different configurations were designed, with the PU foam placed at the front, interlayer, and rear positions. The core objective is to systematically evaluate the influence of PU foam placement on the overall protection mechanism. The ballistic performance was analyzed through numerical simulation and validated by experiment, with results showing good agreement. The findings indicate that the introduction of PU foam interlayer can alter the dynamic response. It effectively disrupts the continuous propagation of stress wave within the UHMWPE fiber layers, while also providing deformation space for the fibers. This mechanism significantly enhances the energy-absorption efficiency of the rear UHMWPE plies. The ballistic limit velocity (V50) was enhanced by 7.0% through structural optimization. The work provides practical design guidelines and a reliable engineering reference for developing lightweight, high-performance ballistic protection configurations for personnel and critical equipment.
KW - Ballistic performance
KW - Finite element simulation
KW - Polyurethane foam
KW - Ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE)
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105047661793
U2 - 10.1007/978-3-032-28967-4_70
DO - 10.1007/978-3-032-28967-4_70
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:105047661793
SN - 9783032289667
T3 - Mechanisms and Machine Science
SP - 984
EP - 1000
BT - Computational and Experimental Simulations in Engineering - Proceedings of ICCES 2026
A2 - Zhou, Kun
PB - Springer Science and Business Media B.V.
T2 - 32nd International Conference on Computational and Experimental Engineering and Sciences, ICCES 2026
Y2 - 7 August 2026 through 12 August 2026
ER -