An Analytical Model for Predicting Stab Resistance of Flexible Woven Composites

Flexible woven composites have been widely used in geotextiles and light weight building structures. The stab resistance behavior of the flexible woven composite is an important factor for the application design. This paper reports an analytical model for predicting stab resistance of flexible woven composites under perpendicular stab with a blunt steel penetrator. The analytical model was established based on the microstructure and the deformation shape of the flexible woven composite under normal penetration. During the quasi-static stab penetration, the strain energies of warp and weft yarns and resins have been calculated. The stab resistance was calculated from the strain energies of the flexible woven composite. Furthermore, the contributions of the warp and weft yarns, resins to the stab resistance have been analyzed. It was found the three constituents have near the same contribution to the stab resistance. The higher value of weaving density, strength of yarns and especially the higher strength coating resins will lead the higher stab resistance. With the analytical model, the stab resistance would be expected to be designed in an efficient way with an acceptable precision.