Single-yarn pull-out test in neat, solvent-treated and shear-thickening fluid-impregnated Kevlar® KM2 fabric: A finite-element analysis

Purpose In order to help explain experimental findings related to the stabbing- and ballistic-penetration resistance of flexible body-armor, single-yarn pull-out tests, involving specially prepared fabric-type test coupons, are often carried out. The purpose of this paper is to develop a finite-element-based computational framework for the simulation of the single-yarn pull-out test, and applied to the case of Kevlar® KM2 fabric. Design/methodology/approach Three conditions of the fabric are considered: neat, i.e, as-woven; polyethylene glycol (PEG)-infiltrated; and shear-thickening fluid (STF)-infiltrated. Due to differences in the three conditions of the fabric, the computational framework had to utilize three different finite-element formulations: standard Lagrangian formulation for the neat fabric; combined Eulerian-Lagrangian formulation for the PEG-infiltrated fabric (an Eulerian subdomain had to be used to treat the PEG solvent/dispersant); and combined continuum Lagrangian/discrete-particle formulation for the STF-infiltrated fabric (to account for the interactions of the particles suspended in PEG, which give rise to the STF character of the suspension, with the yarns, the particles had to be treated explicitly). Findings The results obtained for the single-yarn pull-out virtual tests are compared with the authors’ experimental counterparts, and a reasonably good agreement is obtained, for all three conditions of the fabric. Originality/value To the authors’ knowledge, the present work represents the first attempt to simulate single-yarn pull-out tests of Kevlar® KM2 fabric.