Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Ballistic Impact Analysis on Kevlar Reinforced Polymer Composites and Shape Memory Alloy Sheet Reinforced Kevlar Epoxy Polymer Composites

In the present study, the ballistic impact resistance of kevlar reinforced polymer composites and shape memory alloy sheet reinforced kevlar epoxy polymer composites have been compared numerically and experimentally. The test specimens have been fabricated by the hand layup method, and the ballistic impact test has been conducted according to NIJ Level IIIA. In the current research, a new method has been proposed to measure the ballistic impact resistance of the material by using Image J software. From the test results, it has been observed that reinforcement of shape memory alloy in kevlar epoxy polymer composites has increased the ballistic impact resistance by 89-145% for the damaged area compared with plain kevlar reinforced epoxy polymer composite. Also, the damaged area observed in the numerical and the experimental results is almost the same.