The Analysis of Military Tire Concept using Sandwich Composite Structure made from Kevlar and Natural Rubber Using Finite Element Method and Experiment

Abstract

Currently, the domestic use of rubber currently has high productivity but price is very low. To encourage the use of domestic rubber, this research is aimed at the application of the natural rubber for military work and applications as well as the development of basic research to support the research and development of combat vehicles and weapon systems of Defence Technology Institute. The natural rubber application is emphasized on the basic knowledge in research and development of bullet proof rubber to enhance the military vehicle potential such as wheeled armored vehicles and combat patrol vehicles. In addition, the bullet proof rubber can reduce the other technology installation such as run-flat tire and CTIS system.

This research studied the behavioral impact of bullet proof on the rubber sheets and sandwich composite structure of natural rubber and Kevlar using experiment and Finite Element Method (FEM). The experimental and numerical conditions of bullet proof rubber are under shocks with boundary regulations. A series of FEM analysis and comparison against the test results were performed by using basic boundary regulations and the mechanical behavior model of hyperbolic materials based on Moony-Rifflin, Ogden, and Yeoh equations together with the experiment data.

The coefficient of the rubber model equation was obtained by curve fitting of the experiment data. The experiment of the M193 bullet fired into the rubber sheet with 30 mm thickness showed that the bullet penetrated the tire concept made from natural rubber easily and caused great damage to the rubber. For the experiment of firing the M193 bullet on the rubber with Kevlar inserted in the middle (Sandwich Composite Structure), it was found that the bullet also penetrates the samples, making the rubber and Kevlar clearly separated. In addition, there are the suggestions concerning increase of the experiment to ensure integrity of test results for prediction of the reliable coefficient of rubber and Kevlar models, thus reducing errors in curve fitting due to small experimental data. For future research, the flexibility behavior of rubber is taken into account to accurately predict the behavior of natural rubber.