Formation and properties of fluid jet entangled HMPE impact resistant fabrics

A feasibility study was conducted on the formation and preliminary characterisation of flexible impact resistant mechanically entangled fabrics composed of high modulus polyethylene (HMPE) fibres. Light-weight protection fabrics were manufactured with high impact resistance using spunlaced HMPE fibres. The effects of the applied water jet pressure and web layering on the fabric impact resistance were investigated and an indication of the ballistic resistance was obtained. The evidence suggests that web architecture influences fabric response to the punch test and increased isotropicity in terms of fibre arrangement appears to promote punch resistance. Within the range of water pressures used in this study, increasing the water pressure tends to increase puncture resistance except for one of the samples (H200), which may be related to the increase in fabric density at higher pressures.