Mechanical and anti-stabbing properties of modified thermoplastic polymers impregnated multiaxial p-aramid fabrics

New forms of hybrid multiaxial nanocomposites with enhanced mechanical and stab resisting properties are presented. This study is motivated by the lack of knowledge in the study of the multiaxial fabric nanocomposites with two modified thermoplastic matrices for antiballistic protection. Introduction of 5 wt.% silica nanoparticles in the composite of polyurethane/p-aramid/poly (vinyl butyral) leads to significant improvement in mechanical properties, and the addition of silane as a coupling agents and glutaraldehyde as a crosslinking agents yielded maximal values of storage modulus, tensile modulus and anti-stabbing properties for hybrid nanocomposites. Ballistic resistance testing and penetration depth of the hybrid nanocomposites were visualized using image analysis. Copyright (c) 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.