Effect of Strain Rate on the Tensile Performance of Nonwoven EVA/Aramid Composite Fabrics

The present research work investigates the effect of strain rate on the tensile response of rectangular strips made of nonwoven ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA)/aramid composite fabrics. The strips were manufactured in four layers with stacking sequence of different fiber angles, sandwiched between two EVA films. The performance of these composite fabrics was studied by means of tensile testing conducted at various loading speeds and different positioning angles of 0 degrees and 45 degrees to determine the effect of strain rate in real-life operating conditions. The fabrics demonstrate strain rate sensitivity in positioning angle 0 degrees has decreasing performance with increasing test speed due to a progressively growing triggering mechanism affecting the material stretching. On the other hand, the fabrics exhibit consistency in their performance in positioning angle 45 due to their nonwoven nature which allows for frictionless yarn-to-yarn rotation.