Configuration design of soda-lime glass laminated transparent armor by finite element analysis

Abstract

The goal of this research is to design a lighter weight soda-lime glass/polyvinyl butyral (PVB) laminated transparent armor capable of NIJ level III ballistic protection by finite element analysis (FEA) technique. The armor and projectile with impact velocity at 853 m/s was modeled in 3D using quarter symmetry. The meshing parameters and material model were calibrated to obtain the reliable accuracy in FEA results.

The effects of the striking glass thickness (19, 15, 12, 10, 8, 6 and 3 mm), PVB film (0.76 and 1.52 mm) thicknesses/ordering and the glass/PVB film configurations with reduced total target thickness on the ballistic performance were systematically examined. The FEA results were analyzed and compared to ballistic testing results in terms of the volumetric damage, the distribution of internal and kinetic energy in the laminates, the depth of penetration, and the crater diameter. These results will be subsequently used to evaluate the ballistic performance of laminated armor designs and to identify the optimal design for lighter weight laminated armor as compared to the reference design.

Lastly, the thinnest and lightest-weight soda-lime glass/PVB laminated transparent armor in this study could reach 13.13% and 13.62% of thickness and weight reductions, respectively, comparing to the commercial models. Thus, it could indicate that the FEA performed using ANSYS explicitSTR® software is a powerful tool for the study of the ballistic impact process, the damage propagation, as well as in optimizing the design of laminated transparent armor systems.