Modelling plastic deformation of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene composites under blast loading

Ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) fiber reinforced composites are widely used in military applications to resist threats like projectiles, debris, and blast waves due to their high specific modulus, high strength and low density. In this investigation, numerical simulations were carried out to model the dynamic response of the UHMWPE cross-ply plates under blast loading. An elastoplastic model including strain-rate dependent hardening was implemented in user subroutine VUMAT and was used to describe the anisotropic characteristics of the UHMWPE composites. The coupled Eulerian-Lagrangian (CEL) analysis in ABAQUS was applied to model the blast waves caused by the detonation of an explosive and their interaction with the UHMWPE plate. The numerical model was validated by the corresponding experimental results in the literature. The numerical results demonstrate that the strain rate effects made the deflection of the plate smaller and smoother, indicating that it is necessary to use a strain-rate dependent hardening.