Preparation and characterization of shear thickening fluid coated polypropylene fabric for soft armour application

Abstract

Presently, high performance fibres have been used for soft body armours. However, the use of multilayer high performance fibres involves high cost and complex manufacturing process. The present analysis focused on preparation and characterization of shear thickening fluid coated, cost effective polypropylene fabric with high strength and modulus. Silicon dioxide (SiO2) nanoparticles with different morphologies were synthesised through two different chemical routes. Various volume fractions of SiO2 nanoparticles were dispersed in polyethylene glycol 200 Mw and the shear thickening behaviour was investigated. This analysis reveals that the viscosity of the fluid extensively depends on morphology, volume fraction and particle size distribution of the nanoparticles. The optimized composition of SiO2 nanoparticles exhibiting shear thickening behaviour was coated on polypropylene fabric and subjected to the evaluation of puncture resistance at low and high speed with two different geometry of projectiles (elliptical and flat). The coating thickness of STF was optimized based on high strength, modulus and high puncture resistance.