Ballistic performance of green woven fabrics - A short review

The enhancement in ballistic performance for self protection acquired a great interest in the field of military or defence sector. The conventional metal or ceramic based armours from the very beginning are replaced by high performance synthetic polymers as per their exceptional strength to weight ratio and elevated heat protection characteristics. Kevlar and Aramid fibers are enormously used in manufacturing of various ballistic self protective items. But, in concern to the environmental hazards, natural fibers significantly overcome the limitations of the synthetic fibers or hybrid natural/synthetic fibers. A lot of research has already been developed by using green fibers reinforced composites owing to its high specific strength, stiffness, light weight and maximum impact energy absorption behaviour. This paper presents a short review that elucidated the significance of few novel high performance green fibers such as bamboo, curaua, jute, kenaf, etc., in the field of ballistic applications. The architecture of fibers and their configurations as well as the manufacturing processes also immensely influence the high energy absorption potential. The current paper highlights the importance of bio-influenced woven fabrics, multi layered fabrics, hybrid fabrics and the impact of polymers in manufacturing of personal protective armour, helmets or other items. The various predominant factors such as toughness, ductility, thickness and strength of composite materials are also discussed for better ballistic performance. Copyright (C) 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.