Ballistic performance of ZnO-modified aramid fabric under extreme temperatures

Aramid fabric was widely used in bulletproof armor due to its excellent mechanical properties. Previous studies have shown that high and low temperature had a great impact on the mechanical properties of aramid fibers. This work used ZnO particles to modify aramid fabric to improve its ballistic performance under extreme temperature environment via SEM imaging, quasi-static tensile test, yarn pullout test, ballistic impact test and numerical simulation. The tensile strength and failure strain of modified yarn was 13.3% and 25.9% higher than those of neat yarn under extreme temperature. The ballistic limit velocity of ZnO modified aramid fabric was 124.1% and 164.1% higher than that of neat fabrics under high and low temperature environments, and the areal density was only increased by 8.2%. The weakening of the ballistic performance of aramid fabric was due to micro-surface damage caused by irregular crack defects on the fiber surface and changes in molecular orientation. The numerical simulation results were in good agreement with the ballistic impact test. The influence of changes in fabric mechanical parameters on the ballistic impact protection mechanism was elucidated, further demonstrating the significant improvement of ballistic performance of ZnO modified fabric under extreme temperature.