Compósitos híbridos reforçados com tecidos de curauá, carnaúba e aramida com aplicações em blindagem balística

Abstract

The development of effective ballistic armor systems is essential to ensure human and vehicle protection. These shields are usually made up of different materials, such as fiber-reinforced polymeric composites, which are used when a good weight/ballistic protection ratio is desired. In addition, the search for ecologically correct materials, which associate good mechanical performance with sustainability, has been very frequent nowadays. The present work was directed to the study of the mechanical and ballistic properties presented by composites reinforced with lignocellulosic fibers, intended for armoring applications. An investigation was carried out regarding the characteristics of curaua (Ananas erectifolium) and carnauba (Copernicia prunifera) fibers, examining the average diameter, morphological and chemical analyses. The mechanical characterization of the composites was carried out using curaua and carnauba fibers in continuous and aligned distributions through manual production of polyester-fiber composites with 10, 20 and 30%v/v, through tensile, flexural and Charpy impact. From these results, laminated polyester composites were produced for the first time, using hybrid systems with layers of Aramid-Curaua, Aramid-Carnauba and Curaua-Carnauba fabrics, adopting the molding process by cold pressing. All proposed hybrid composites have 30%v/v of fibers and were produced in non-alternating configuration, being submitted to ballistic impact tests considering the level of protection and residual velocity. The ballistic results showed that the Curaua-Carnauba systems were perforated, unlike the Aramid-Curaua and Aramid-Carnauba systems, which were not pierced, which obtained a level I of ballistic protection. In addition, through the residual velocity results, it confirmed the need for fabrics, not blankets, to be used for ballistic applications of these composites. The results are a strong indication of the possible potential of similar hybrid composite solutions.