Ballistic Resistant Fabric Armor

Abstract

A woven ballistic resistant fabric armor system comprising at least one ply having a yarn-yarn angle between the warp and fill yarns of less than 90°, with each ply oriented relative to an axis along the thickness of the plies such that adjacent plies have a different yarn-yarn angle, a different orientation, or both. The armor system may feature materials of different stiffness, strength, and strain-to-failure in each ply or a filler between selected plies, including a filler comprising discrete pieces of fabric ply that fit within the cell periphery of a stitching pattern.

1 . A woven ballistic resistant fabric armor system comprising a plurality of plies together defining a thickness, at least one ply comprising warp yarns and fill yarns having a yarn-yarn angle between them of less than 90°, each ply having a ply orientation of the warp and fill yarns relative to an axis along the thickness, wherein adjacent plies have (a) a different yarn-yarn angle, (b) a different ply orientation, or (c) a combination of (a) and (b). 
   
   
       2 . The woven ballistic resistant fabric armor system of  claim 1 , wherein the minimum yarn-yarn angle is greater than a locking angle of the yarns. 
   
   
       3 . The woven ballistic resistant fabric armor system of  claim 1 , wherein:
 each ply has (a) an angle bisector that bisects the yarn-yarn angle for that ply and (b) a reference vector that is parallel to corresponding reference vectors for each other ply, and   successive fabric plies are rotated relative to one another in a rotation pattern in which the angle bisectors for the first, second, third and fourth plies are aligned relative to the reference vectors at angles of 0°, 90°, +45°, and −45° respectively, and the angle bisectors of any additional successive plies repeat the same rotation pattern as the first through fourth plies.   
   
   
       4 . The woven ballistic resistant fabric armor system of  claim 1 , wherein
 each ply has (a) an angle bisector that bisects the yarn-yarn angle for that ply and (b) a reference vector that is parallel to corresponding reference vectors for each other ply, and   successive fabric plies are rotated relative to one another in a rotation pattern in which the angle bisectors for the first and second plies are aligned relative to the reference vectors at angles of 0° and 90°, respectively, and the angle bisectors of any additional successive plies repeat the same rotation pattern as the first and second plies.   
   
   
       5 . The woven ballistic resistant fabric armor system of  claim 1 , wherein:
 each ply has (a) an angle bisector that bisects the yarn-yarn angle for that ply and (b) a reference vector that is parallel to corresponding reference vectors for each other ply, and   successive fabric plies are rotated relative to one another in a rotation pattern in which the angle bisectors for the first through eighth plies are aligned relative to the reference vectors at angles of 0°, 90°, +45°, −45°, +22.5°, −22.5°, +67.5°, and −67.5°, respectively, and the angle bisectors of any additional successive plies repeat the same rotation pattern as the first through eighth plies.   
   
   
       6 . the Woven Ballistic Resistant Fabric Armor System of Claim  1 , Wherein none of the plurality of fabric plies have the same yarn-yarn angle. 
   
   
       7 . The woven ballistic resistant fabric armor system of  claim 1 , wherein all of the plurality of fabric plies have the same yarn-yarn angle. 
   
   
       8 . The woven ballistic resistant fabric armor system of  claim 1 , comprising a topmost ply relative to a potential projectile impact, wherein the respective yarn-yarn angles of plies beneath the topmost ply are progressively less than an adjacent ply above, progressively greater than an adjacent ply above, or different from one another in a predetermined pattern. 
   
   
       9 . The woven ballistic resistant fabric armor system of  claim 1 , wherein at least two plies are stitched together. 
   
   
       10 . The woven ballistic resistant fabric armor system of  claim 1 , wherein all plies are stitched to at least one other ply. 
   
   
       11 . The woven ballistic resistant fabric armor system of  claim 9 , wherein the at least two plies are stitched together in a stitching pattern comprising parallel unidirectional lines, or a square, rectangular, or diamond shape. 
   
   
       12 . The woven ballistic resistant fabric armor system of  claim 10  having an armor thickness, comprising:
 a first plurality of plies stitched together in a first stitching pattern, the first plurality including a topmost ply relative to a potential projectile impact, an intermediate ply above a mid-plane of the armor thickness, and all plies between the topmost ply and the intermediate ply, and   remaining plies below the intermediate ply stitched together in second stitching pattern, wherein the second stitching pattern differs from the first stitching pattern with respect to shape or size of the stitching pattern.   
   
   
       13 . The woven ballistic resistant fabric armor system of  claim 1 , comprising a topmost plurality of plies relative to a potential projectile impact separated from a bottommost plurality of plies by a filler material, wherein the topmost plurality comprises fewer plies than the bottommost plurality and the topmost plurality has a thickness that is not more than a quarter of a total thickness of the armor. 
   
   
       14 . The woven ballistic resistant fabric armor system of  claim 13 , wherein the filler material has a thickness in a range of two to six times a single ply thickness, has an areal density less than an equivalent areal density of a single fabric ply, and has a stiffness and a bulk modulus less than a single fabric ply. 
   
   
       15 . The woven ballistic resistant fabric armor system of  claim 13 , wherein the filler material is stitched to plies above, plies below, or a combination thereof. 
   
   
       16 . The woven ballistic resistant fabric armor system of  claim 13 , wherein the filler material comprises a plurality of fabric ply pieces, each piece sized and positioned to fit completely within a cell periphery created by a stitching pattern, wherein at least adjacent plies directly above and directly below the filler material are stitched together using the stitching pattern. 
   
   
       17 . The woven ballistic resistant fabric armor system of  claim 1 , wherein all warp yarns and fill yarns in all of the plurality of plies comprise a same single high strength and high modulus material. 
   
   
       18 . The woven ballistic resistant fabric armor system of  claim 1 , wherein less than all warp yarns and fill yarns in all of the plurality of plies comprise a same single high strength and high modulus material. 
   
   
       19 . The woven ballistic resistant fabric armor system of  claim 18 , wherein the warp yarn and fill yarn in an upper plurality of plies relative to a potential impact comprise a first material and the warp yarns and fill yarns in a lower plurality of plies comprise a second material, the first material relative to the second material characterized by greater absorption of energy during high energy impacts that cause failure by a shearing mechanism, the second material relative to the first material characterized by greater absorption of energy during low energy impacts that cause yarn failure by a tensile elongation mechanism. 
   
   
       20 . The woven ballistic resistant fabric armor system of  claim 1  having an armor thickness, wherein the warp yarns and fill yarns in a topmost ply relative to a potential impact have a first stiffness, and lower plies beneath the topmost ply each comprise warp yarns and fill yarns having a corresponding stiffness, wherein the corresponding stiffness progressively increases through the armor thickness, progressively decreases through the armor thickness, or varies throughout the armor thickness in a predetermined pattern. 
   
   
       21 . The woven ballistic resistant fabric armor system of  claim 1  having an armor thickness, wherein the warp yarns and fill yarns in a topmost ply relative to a potential impact have a first strain-to-failure, and lower plies beneath the topmost ply each comprise warp yarns and fill yarns having a corresponding strain-to-failure, wherein the corresponding strain-to-failure progressively increases through the armor thickness, decreases through the armor thickness, or varies throughout the armor thickness in a predetermined pattern. 
   
   
       22 . The ballistic resistant armor of  claim 1 , wherein the warp yarn and fill yarn comprise one or more surface treatments, additives or interfacial treatments that increase a coefficient of friction between the warp and fill yarns relative to yarns without such treatments or additives. 
   
   
       23 . The ballistic resistant armor of  claim 1 , wherein the warp yarn and fill yarn comprise a material having a denier of at least 450, an areal density of at least 150 g/m 2 , a longitudinal elastic modulus of at least 50 GPa, and a strain-to-failure of at least 2.2% and at most 4.0%. 
   
   
       24 . The ballistic resistant armor of  claim 1  comprising a flexible, dry fabric armor system. 
   
   
       25 . The ballistic resistant armor of  claim 1 , comprising a flexible fabric armor system comprising one or more plies partially impregnated with resin. 
   
   
       26 . The ballistic resistant armor of  claim 1 , comprising a rigid fabric armor system comprising one of more plies fully impregnated with resin. 
   
   
       27 . The ballistic resistant armor of  claim 1 , wherein the armor comprises body armor wearable by a user. 
   
   
       28 . The ballistic resistant armor of  claim 1 , wherein the armor comprises an engine casing. 
   
   
       29 . The ballistic resistant armor of  claim 1 , wherein the armor comprises a lining for an airplane fuselage. 
   
   
       30 . The ballistic resistant armor of  claim 1 , wherein the armor comprises a spall liner for a vehicle. 
   
   
       31 . The ballistic resistant armor of  claim 1 , wherein each of the plies comprises a plain weave architecture.