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International Symposium on Advanced Launch Technologies (ISALT 2022) IOP Publishing
Journal of Physics: Conference Series 2460 (2023) 012096 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/2460/1/012096

Study of the Influence Factors for Ballistic Performance of

Glass Fiber Reinforced Composites

HM Xu, XB Wang, BC Wang, YJ Xue, YN Qi and LM Kong

Shandong Non-metallic Materials Research Institute, Jinan 250031,China

Abstract. The study prepares glass fiber reinforced composites through Vacuum Assisted Resin
Infusion (VARI) process, selects glass fibers of different specifications, and studies the effects
of lay-up mode, thickness, simulated normal incident angle, and temperature of fiber composites
s on their ballistic performance. Results show that with slimmer fiber monofilament, reinforced
materials perform better in ballistics; the lay-up mode has limited influence on ballistic
performance; the relationship between thickness and ballistic performance is positively linear;
and the relationship between normal incident angle and ballistic performance is parabolic.
Compared with room temperature conditions, the ballistic performance of composites does not
decrease and even increases slightly under low temperatures. Yet, the performance decreases
sharply at high temperatures.

1. Introduction
Composite materials are widely used in various fields due to their low density, high specific strength,
specific stiffness, heat resistance, shock absorption, corrosion resistance, fatigue resistance, superior
designability, and other properties [1-6]. In addition to reducing the weight and improving the power of
weapons, they offer flexibility and protection, making them highly valued in research and development
[7-9].
Glass fibers are high in strength, elongation at break and chemical stability, cheap in price and
excellent in ballistic performance [10]. Glass fiber reinforced composites have been widely used in
protective armor for their superior performance, such as in composite armor components, personal body
armor and bulletproof helmets [11]. However, the application of glass fiber reinforced composites in
engineering is limited to some extent since as the influencing factors for ballistic performance have not
been studied extensively [12].
Liu Guoquan et al. [9] investigated the anti-impact energy absorption mechanism of fiber composites.
They revealed the effect of resin content on the ballistic performance of such composites and found the
optimum level to be 24.7%. Wu Pan et al. [2] conducted experiments to study the variance in ballistic
performance of composites with different lay-up modes. Shi Nannan et al. [13] analyzed the ballistic

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International Symposium on Advanced Launch Technologies (ISALT 2022) IOP Publishing
Journal of Physics: Conference Series 2460 (2023) 012096 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/2460/1/012096

performance of multiple types of fiber reinforced composites and came to the conclusion that fiber
reinforced composites outperform other composites. Gong Ping et al. [14] evaluated the process
parameters of glass fiber composites by using vinyl ester resin, glass fiber unidirectional fabric with a
monofilament diameter of 9μm, 0°/90° lay-up manner and 48%-55% of fiber volume fraction, all of
which contribute to a higher ballistic performance. However, the above studies merely characterized the
ballistic performance of composites from the perspective of optimizing material properties, while the
analysis of influencing factors was inadequate. Moreover, up to now, there has been much research on
the low-velocity ballistic performance of composites, yet little on the high-velocity ballistic performance
of glass fiber reinforced composites. This paper compares glass fiber reinforced composites of different
specifications for application scenarios through selecting the best-performing fibers and analyzing the
ballistic performance of composites. It also conducts an in-depth research of the influence factors such
as lay-up mode, thickness, simulated normal incident angle and temperature on the ballistic performance
of glass fiber reinforced composites.

2. Experimental section

2.1. Experimental materials and equipment

Materials:
E glass fiber A (Beijing FRP Research and Design Institute)
E glass fiber B (Tai’an Glass Fiber Co., Ltd.)
Vinyl ester resin MFE-2DS (industrial product, Shanghai Huachang Polymer Co., Ltd.)
Accelerators and curing agents (industrial products)
Equipment:
2X-8 Rotary Vane Vacuum Pump
Type 54 12.7mm Ballistic Gun
ZB101 Electric Heat Drying System
DWJ-A-2 High Pressure Waterjet Cutting System

2.2. Preparation of glass fiber reinforced composite plates (target plates)

Adopting the VARI process, high-performing glass fiber reinforced resin composites of the same resin
structure are produced. The cured composite blank, after being unloaded, are placed in an electric heat
drying system and cured for 2h at 120℃, and then taken out and cut into 400mm×400mm target plates
with a high-pressure waterjet cutter.

2.3. Ballistic performance experiments

Ballistic experiments are proceeded under room temperature and normal atmospheric humidity
conditions. The projectiles are 4.5g high-strength spherical fragments, and the ballistic limit velocity
V50 is measured by applying the Test Method of Ballistic Resistance Against Fragment Simulating
Projectiles for Fiber-reinforced Composites—V50 Method (GB/T 32497-2016). Type 54 12.7mm
ballistic velocity measuring gun is adopted. During the experiment, the target plate is fixed and clamped
on a frame. The distance between the point of impact and the target plate is controlled at six times greater
than the explosion diameter. The test setup is illustrated in Fig. 1.

2
International Symposium on Advanced Launch Technologies (ISALT 2022) IOP Publishing
Journal of Physics: Conference Series 2460 (2023) 012096 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/2460/1/012096

This study adopts V50 method and SEA method (Specific Energy Absorption, absorbed energy/areal
density of the plate) to characterize and evaluate ballistic performance.
V50 method evaluates the bulletproof ability of composite target plates with certain areal density
(AD) through measuring the velocity at which a simulated projectile is expected to penetrate the target
half of the time. The method can visualize the ballistic performance of the target plate.
The SEA method characterizes ballistic performance based on V50. SEA refers to the ability of a
target with unit areal density to absorb energy of the simulated projectile at the velocity of V50. The
formula is as follows:
1
mV502
SEA= 2 ρs
(1)
where, ρs refers to the areal density of the composite, kg/m2; V50 refers to the limit ballistic velocity,
m/s; m refers to the mass of the simulated projectile, kg.

Figure 1. Schematic diagram of the ballistic experiment.

3. Results and discussion

3.1. Ballistic performance of glass reinforced composites of different specifications

The same preparation process is adopted to produce fiber reinforced resin composite plates of the same
size, yet with different other specifications (target plates). Experiments are conducted in accordance
with GB/T32497-2016 to investigate the difference in ballistic performance between target plates
reinforced by different fibers.
From Table 1, we can see that the ballistic performance of E glass fiber B is better than that of E
glass fiber A. For fibers with different fabric types, unidirectional fabrics show better performance than
plain weave ones. The areal density of E glass fiber B is 600 g/m2, higher than that of E glass fiber A.
The SEA of E glass fiber B is also higher, probably due to its high areal density and high fiber volume
content in the composite. Similarly, unidirectional fabric has high fiber volume content and exhibits
higher SEA than plain weave fabric. Taking economic issues and processing difficulty into consideration,
plain weave E glass fiber B (hereinafter referred to as glass fiber) is chosen for following experiments.

3
International Symposium on Advanced Launch Technologies (ISALT 2022) IOP Publishing
Journal of Physics: Conference Series 2460 (2023) 012096 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/2460/1/012096

Table 1. Comparison of different glass fiber reinforced composites.

Areal Density Areal Density of SEA
Fiber type Fabric type
of Fiber (g/m2) Composite (kg/m2) (J∙m2∙kg-1)
E GLASS FIBER A Plain weave 400 19.7 18.7
E GLASS FIBER A Unidirection 200 18.1 19.5
E GLASS FIBER B Plain weave 600 18.4 20.7
E GLASS FIBER B Unidirection 300 18.6 21.1
Adopting the same preparation process, fiber reinforced resin-base composite plates of the same size
are produced. Furthermore, the mechanical properties and ballistic performance of the plates with
different filament diameters, say 6μm, 8μm, and 11μm, are studied. The results are as follows:
Table 2. Comparison of E glass fiber reinforced composites with different monofilament diameters.

Fiber volume Tensile modulus Flexural V50 SEA

Fiber type
content (％) (GPa) modulus (GPa) (m∙s-1) (J∙m2∙kg-1)
E GLASS FIBER (6) 43 20.1 19.8 499 25.47
E GLASS FIBER (8) 39 23.1 17.6 491 24.92
E GLASS FIBER (11) 36 21.5 22.3 476 24.16

Figure 2. Histogram comparison of E glass fiber reinforced composites with different monofilament
diameters.
From the above table and histogram, we can see the ballistic performance of each composite. With a
smaller monofilament diameter, the fiber volume content in the composite material is higher, leading to
higher SEA and better ballistic performance. Tensile modulus and flexural modulus are not linearly
related to the diameter of the fiber monofilament. Therefore, while keeping the structural performance
of the composite unchanged, glass fiber with a monofilament diameter of 6μm is preferred as the
reinforcing element. In the following sections, factors that may affect the performance of the glass fiber
reinforced composite are examined in detail.

3.2. Lay-up mode

We use the VARI molding process to prepare target plates with the same number of fabric layers arranged

4
International Symposium on Advanced Launch Technologies (ISALT 2022) IOP Publishing
Journal of Physics: Conference Series 2460 (2023) 012096 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/2460/1/012096

in 0º/90º and -45º/45º, respectively, cure the materials, and then cut them into 300mm×300mm using
high-pressure waterjet cutting. Experiments are conducted according to GB/T32497-2016, and the
ballistic performance of two structural armor composites with two typical lay-up modes are
characterized. The results are as follows:
It is observed from Table 3 that when the lay-up mode 0º/90º is adopted, the fiber volume content is
higher and ballistic performance slightly enhanced. However, the lay-up mode only has a limited effect
on ballistic performance. Moreover, the preparation process for 0º/90º lay-up pattern is relatively simpler,
so it is preferred when preparing glass fiber reinforced composites.
Table 3. Influence of lay-up mode on ballistic performance.

Fiber volume content Areal density V50 SEA

Lay-up mode
(%) (kg∙m-2) (m∙s-1) (J∙m2∙kg-1)
0º/90º 42 28.3 626 29.7
-45º/45º 40 29.6 604.0 29.0

3.3. Thickness
Experiments are conducted in line with GB/T 32497-2016 to study the ballistic performance of glass
fiber reinforced composites with thicknesses of 5mm, 9mm, 12mm, 15mm, 20mm, 25mm and 30mm,
respectively. The results are shown in Fig. 3 and Fig. 4.
1000
900
800
700
600
V50/m/s

500
400
:trial curve
300 :fitted curve
200 Y =146.7+27.3T
100
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Thickness/mm

Figure 3. Relationship between thickness and V50.

5
International Symposium on Advanced Launch Technologies (ISALT 2022) IOP Publishing
Journal of Physics: Conference Series 2460 (2023) 012096 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/2460/1/012096

35

30

25
Sea/J.m2/Kg

20 :trial curve
:fitted curve

15 Y =12.8+0.76T

10
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Thickness/mm

Figure 4. Relationship between thickness and SEA.

According to Fig. 3 and Fig. 4, as the thickness of the target plate increases, the numerical values of
SEA and V50 go up.
Upon calculation, V50=146.7+27.3T is determined as the approximate engineering function between
V50 and thickness (T), and SEA=12.8+0.76T is the one between SEA and thickness (T). Therefore,
regardless of the areal density of the composite, increasing its thickness will enhance its ballistic
performance, providing reference for making engineering decisions.

3.4. Incident normal angle

Experiments are conducted in line with GB/T 32497-2016 to study the ballistic performance of glass
fiber reinforced composites with thicknesses of 12mm and 16mm under various incident normal angle
conditions, including 0°, 15°, 30°, 45°, 60°, and 70°. The results are illustrated in Table 4, Fig. 5, and
Fig. 6.
Table 4. Influence of incident normal angle on ballistic performance.

Thickness (mm) Incident angle (°) V50 (m∙s-1) SEA (J∙m2∙kg-1)

12 0 590 26.1
15 600 27.0
30 622 29.0
45 699 36.6
60 860 55.5
16 0 520 25.9
15 526 26.5
30 533 27.2
45 646 40.0
60 869 72.3

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International Symposium on Advanced Launch Technologies (ISALT 2022) IOP Publishing
Journal of Physics: Conference Series 2460 (2023) 012096 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/2460/1/012096

1100

1000 B：12mm thick glass fiber composite material

C：16mm thick glass fiber composite material
：the fitting curve of B
900 ： the fitting curve of C

800
m/s）
V50（

Y =597.4-2.54α+0.11α2
700

600

Y =532.3-4.83α+0.17α2
500

0 15 30 45 60 75
Normal angle/°

Figure 5. Influence of incident normal angle on V50 of composite plates with different thicknesses.
110

100

90 B ： 12mm thick glass fiber composite material

C： 16mm thick glass fiber composite material
80
:the fitting curve of B
70 :the fitting curve of C
SEA/J·m /kg
2

60
Y =28.8-0.98α+0.03α2
50

40 Y =27.1-0.3α+0.01α2
30

20
0 15 30 45 60 75 90 105 120
Normal angle/°

Figure 6. Influence of incident normal angle on SEA of composite plates with different thicknesses.
From Table 4, Fig. 5 and 6, we can see that:
(1) Within the range of 0°-70°, as the incident normal angle of the simulated projectile increases, the
numerical values of V50 and SEA increase, and the material’s ballistic performance improves.
(2) Upon calculation, the fitting engineering function between V50 and normal angle α of 12mm
composite plates is identified as V50=0.17α2-4.83α+532.33, and that of 16mm composite plates is
V50=0.11α2-2.54α+597.4. The V50 value tends to be stable as the normal angle increases.
(3) Upon calculation, the approximate engineering function between SEA and normal angle α of
12mm plates is identified as SEA=0.03α2-0.98α+28.8, and that of 16mm plates is SEA=0.01α2-
0.3α+27.1. Since SEA is correlated with areal density, with a large normal angle, changes in the normal
angle have a relatively high influence on the ballistic performance.
It can be seen from the fitting curve that SEA and V50 increase in a parabolic manner as the normal
angle increases.

3.5. Temperature
Considering the application of glass fiber reinforced composite materials in protective armor, the

7
International Symposium on Advanced Launch Technologies (ISALT 2022) IOP Publishing
Journal of Physics: Conference Series 2460 (2023) 012096 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/2460/1/012096

ballistic performance of glass fiber reinforced composites under temperatures of -50℃, -25℃, 23℃,
100℃, and 150℃ are studied. As the V50 test requires a length of time and may cause changes in the
temperature of the sample, this study investigates the effect of temperature on ballistic performance by
using simulated projectiles at a nearly constant incident initial velocity to fully penetrate target plates of
the same thickness and areal density. The results are presented in Table 5, Fig. 7 and 8.
Table 5. Influence of temperature on ballistic performance.

Temperature Areal density V50 SEA

(℃) (kg∙m-2) (m∙s-1) (J∙m2∙kg-1)
-50 20.3 457.5 23.2
-25 20.7 464.0 23.4
23 20.5 451.8 22.4
100 20.6 444.7 21.6
150 20.7 440.6 21.1

465

460

455
（m/s）
V50

450

445

440

-50 -25 0 25 50 75 100 125 150

temperature/℃

Figure 7. Influence of temperature on V50.

23.5

23.0

22.5
SEA（J ·m2/kg）

22.0

21.5

21.0

-50 -25 0 25 50 75 100 125 150

temperature/℃

Figure 8. Influence of temperature on SEA.

From Fig. 7 and 8, we can conclude that temperature has a relatively significant influence on the
ballistic performance of glass fiber reinforced composites. Based on the room temperature of 23℃, the
ballistic performance increases slightly at lower temperatures. This may be due to the weaker activity

8
International Symposium on Advanced Launch Technologies (ISALT 2022) IOP Publishing
Journal of Physics: Conference Series 2460 (2023) 012096 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/2460/1/012096

of the resin at low temperatures, the more stable molecular chain segments, and the better interlayer
bonding performance with the fiber. Therefore, the impact resistance at low temperatures will be slightly
improved. The flexural strength of glass fiber reinforced composites at low temperatures was
characterized, and there was also a phenomenon of strength improvement. The ballistic performance
decreasing sharply at high temperatures, exhibiting about 10% of decline compared with that under 23℃.

4. Conclusions
(1) Upon examining fibers with three different monofilament diameters, we are able to conclude
that with a smaller fiber monofilament, the fiber volume content and mass ratio are higher in the
composites, the ballistic performance is better. So, E glass fiber with a monofilament diameter of 6μm
is considered to be the best option for reinforcing composites.
(2) The ballistic performance of glass fiber reinforced composites adopting a fiber lay-up method
of 0°/90°is better than that adopting -45°/45°, but lay-up mode only has a limited effect.
(3) The relationship between the thickness and ballistic performance of glass fiber reinforced
composites is basically linear. Ballistic performance is improved with a greater thickness.
(4) The relationship between the incident normal angle of the simulated projectile and the ballistic
performance of glass fiber reinforced composites is basically parabolic in ascending order. As the angle
increases, the ballistic performance improves in a parabolic manner.
(5) The ballistic performance improves at low temperatures while decreasing sharply under high
temperatures. The SEA drops by about 10% at high temperatures compared with that at 23℃.

5. Reference
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International Symposium on Advanced Launch Technologies (ISALT 2022) IOP Publishing
Journal of Physics: Conference Series 2460 (2023) 012096 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/2460/1/012096

reinforced composites J. Journal of Ballistics 19(3):10-14

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