An Experimental and Numerical Study for Ballistic Impact Behavior of Natural Fiber-Based Laminated Sheet Against the Hemispherical Projectile

In this paper, the ballistic behavior of laminated jute sheets was analyzed against projectile impact through experimentation as well as numerical simulations. The size of the laminated jute sheets was considered to be 150 mm × 150 mm, with varying thicknesses of 3 and 5 mm with different stacking sequences. The laminated jute sheets were impacted by 17 gm hemispherical projectile having 10 mm diameter and 26 mm length. The ballistic tests were conducted within a velocity range of 15 to 47 m/s. For the ballistic impact experiments on the laminated jute sheets, a pneumatic gas gun was used, while numerical simulations were carried out using explicit ANSYS/LS-DYNA. To simulate the damage behaviors of the fiber material, the Chang-Chang damage model was employed. The numerical model was validated against the experimental results in terms of residual velocity, energy absorption, ballistic limit, back face signature, and damage pattern, and the results showed good correlation. Additionally, scanning electron microscope (SEM) testing was conducted to investigate the failure mechanisms, revealing fiber breakage and matrix cracking as the primary failure modes in the laminated jute sheets. Moreover, to compare the performance with other high-strength fibers, a performance and economic work analysis were also included.