Materials Today: Proceedings 45 (2021) 788–793

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Materials Today: Proceedings

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Ballistic impact analysis of graphene nanosheets reinforced kevlar-29

S. Vignesh ⇑, R. Surendran, T. Sekar, B. Rajeswari
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Government College of Technology, Coimbatore 641013, India

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The bulletproof vests used by law enforcement officials can be appropriately termed as ‘‘Bullet-resistant”
Received 3 November 2019 vests instead of bulletproof vests since they are not completely threat proof. The bullets released from
Received in revised form 21 February 2020 handgun calibers such as 0.357 SIG or 9 mm guns travel at a very high velocity which the vests cannot
Accepted 24 February 2020
withstand. These vests are mostly made of ceramic or steel plates backed with para-aramids such as kev-
Available online 18 March 2020
lar, spectra, and dyneema. Kevlar is an organic fiber from an aromatic polyamide family. Kevlar has a
unique molecular structure that distinguishes it from other polyamide families. The para-aramid struc-
Keywords:
ture gives kevlar an optimum combination of high tensile strength, high modulus, resilience, thermal sta-
Bulletproof vests
Graphene
bility, and toughness [1]. Different varieties of Kevlar are produced to be used in different applications.
Kevlar-29 Kevlar-29 has been the most widely used material in bulletproof vests for ballistic protection. Despite
Ballistic impact its strength and resilience kevlar has its disadvantages such as poor compression strength, which makes
it less reliable for ballistic protection. Although kevlar fibers are strong and have high tensile strength its
ability to cope with the force of compression is poor [2]. Also, the inclusion of these plates significantly
increases the weight of the jackets. Graphene, on the other hand, is a two-dimensional allotrope of carbon
atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice structure [3]. It is found to be the strongest material ever found yet
weighs much less than a paper [4]. In this work, graphene nanoparticles are inserted as laminates in-
between the kevlar fiber layers and dynamic ballistic impact analysis is done on this reinforced material.
The equivalent stresses, total deformation, maximum principal stress and directional velocity of the vests
and bullet are investigated and the results show a significant increase in the ballistic performance of vests
reinforced with graphene laminates.
Ó 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the International Confer-
ence on Advances in Materials Research – 2019.

1. Introduction
Bulletproof vests are protective materials that have defensive
coatings to protect the body against physical attacks from bullets
and shrapnel [1–4]. These vests had come across a series of devel-
opment due to the demand of protection required by various levels
of threats [5]. The vests may differ depending on the type of pro-
tection needed. The materials like animal skin, fibers, and cotton
in the form of textiles are used for protection in initial stages
whereas synthetic fibers such as kevlar, spectra and dyneema
fibers are used for protection in modern vests [6]. Some metals like
stainless steel are inserted in between the layers of fibers to
increase the level of protection. In a recent model of bulletproof
vests inclusion of boron carbide has been shown to increase the
level of protection due to its high tensile strength [7]. Though these
⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: vickytechie03@gmail.com (S. Vignesh).
materials have high tensile strength they cannot withstand a high-
velocity bullet, especially that are from a short distance. Hence a
new level of protection is needed for high-velocity bullets with a
larger diameter.
2. Experiment
2.1. Design of bulletproof vests
The bulletproof vests should be designed in such a way that it
provides a high level of protection while balancing other vital
parameters like optimum weight, mobility, flexibility, breathabil-
ity, and the cost of production [8]. The vests consist of a panel, a
vest shaped structure made up of advanced polymers such as kev-
lar, dyneema and spectra fibers [9]. It uses a concept of a web-like
structure to absorb the high velocity of a bullet. The web-like
structure is provided by the fibers that are woven and are rein-
forced with a complaint polymer or resin-like Kraton which binds

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2020.02.808
2214-7853/Ó 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the International Conference on Advances in Materials Research – 2019.
 S. Vignesh et al. / Materials Today: Proceedings 45 (2021) 788–793 789

the fibers together. This process is done by the application of heat company Dupont developed the para-aramid fiber called Kevlar.
and pressure. The panel stops the bullet by absorbing its kinetic It is made up of p-phenyleneterepthalamides (PPTA) that has a dis-
energy, while the metallic plate inserted in between layers of panel tinct rod-like liquid crystalline structure which arranges itself in
fractures and crush the bullet into fragments [10]. The panel fibers parallel alignment with the increase in concentration [11]. This
may be woven or non-woven. Usually, the fibers are woven to form provides kevlar a high molecular weight along with a great combi-
a thick and strong textile-like structure. nation of high strength [12], toughness [13], high modulus [14],
ballistic resistance [15], thermal stability with a relatively low
2.2. Use of kevlar in bulletproof vests weight [16]. The kevlar has a tensile strength of about 3620 MPa
along with a relative density of 1.44 gm/cm3 [17]. The glass transi-
The materials used in bulletproof jackets are mostly synthetic tion temperature of kevlar is over 300 °C and the decomposition
fibers such as kevlar, dyneema, spectra, etc. The fibers are chosen temperature is about 560 °C. When kevlar is employed at 180 °C
according to the specific application and the type of protection for 48 h its strength retention rate is 84% [18]. The other important
needed. Towards the end of the Vietnam conflict, the chemical properties of kevlar ballistic material are high impact resistance,
good chemical stability, and UV resistance, etc [19].
Table 1
Comparison of ballistic properties of kevlar and Graphene. 2.3. Limitations of bulletproof vests
Properties Kevlar Graphene
Tensile strength 3000 MPa 130 GPa The material used in bulletproof vests must have high tensile
Relative Density 1.44 gm/cm3 2.267 gm/cm3 strength which can protect the body from the fast-moving bullet.
Young’s modulus 154.61 GPa 1000 GPa Though kevlar has high tensile strength they are unable to stop
Type-III or above level bullets such as 0.44 Magnum SJHP, 0.30–
0.06 Springfield or equivalent Russian heavy machine guns [20].
These bullets move at very high velocities of about 800 m/s and
are very difficult to stop especially when shot from a short distance
[21]. Most ceramic armors used today employ Alumina Al2O3 but it

Table 2
Specifications of the bulletproof vest.

Specification Dimensions
Material Kevlar
Front width at 5 cm lower from neckline 335 mm
Front width of plate at the lower end 290 mm
Length of front plate pocket 350 mm
Side width of the layers 54 mm
Number of layers 20
Material laminate to be inserted 10 Graphene layers

Table 3
Specifications of 0.30–06 Springfield.

Specification Dimensions
Parent case 0.30–06 Springfield
Case type Rimless, bottleneck
Bullet diameter 0.308 in (7.8 mm)
Neck diameter 0.340 in (8.6 mm)
Shoulder diameter 0.441 in (11.2 mm)
Base diameter 0.471 in (12.0 mm)
Primer type Large Rifle
Weight 9.7 g
Velocity 890 m/s
Fig 1. Steps involved in Ballistic analysis. Energy 3,820 J

Fig 2. (a) 3D Model of 0.30–06 Springfield and Bulletproof Vest (b) Meshing of Armor and bullet.
790 S. Vignesh et al. / Materials Today: Proceedings 45 (2021) 788–793

increases the overall weight of the vests. The average weight of
vests consisting of 10–25 layers of fibers is about 8–10 kgs [22].
This heavyweight affects the mobility and breathability of the sol-
diers. Also, the fibers undergo severe degradation under UV radia-
tions and are also vulnerable to acidic and alkaline conditions [23].
The presence of salts and certain other impurities, especially cal-
cium, could interfere with the strand interaction.
2.4. Graphene as ballistic material
Graphene is a two-dimensional crystalline allotrope of
carbon having a single-layered thickness of atoms arranged in a
honeycomb structure [24]. Graphene has been attracting a lot of
researchers due to its excellent mechanical and physical
properties such as high breaking strength [25], high young’s mod-
ulus, high intrinsic mobility, high specific area, mechanical stiff-
ness, high electrical conductivity [26], and good thermal
conductivity [27]. These properties of graphene arise from the
sp2 hybridized bonds in the plane symmetrical rc-c bond which
are also called dangling bonds and p bond. Graphene has a tensile
strength of about 130 GPa which makes it the strongest material
ever found. This high strength is due to the strong covalent
bonding between the single-atom thickness of layers of the
material yet weighs less than paper [28]. This makes graphene a

Fig 3. Dynamic impact analysis results on kevlar vests (a) Total deformation of kevlar made vests (b) Plot of total deformation against time (c) Equivalent (von-mises) stress
of kevlar made vests (d) Plot of equivalent stresses developed against time. (e) Maximum principal stress of kevlar made vests (f) Plot of maximum principal stress against
time (g) Directional velocity of bullet (h) Plot of the directional velocity of the bullet against time. (a) and (b) shows the total deformation of the vests after the impact of a
high-velocity bullet is about 0.249 m. (c) shows equivalent stress of about 8825.60 MPa is induced in the vest. (e) and (f) is showing maximum principal stress induced in the
deformed layers of kevlar is 9644.8 MPa. (g) and (h) shows the directional velocity of bullet along the x-direction.
 S. Vignesh et al. / Materials Today: Proceedings 45 (2021) 788–793 791

superior ballistic material than that of the kevlar. The comparison
of ballistic properties of two materials kevlar and graphene is given
in Table 1.
2.5. Methodology
At present, ANSYS is the most widely used software for finite
element analysis, but its pre-processing function is so complex so
that it requires much time and energy for modeling complex
shapes. Hence in this work, CATIA has been used for modeling
and ANSYS for meshing and analysis. The methodology used for
the dynamic analysis of this work is depicted in Fig. 1.
The bulletproof vest and the 0.30–06 Springfield are designed
using CATIA V5-R20 as shown in Fig. 2. The vest is made up of
kevlar-29 composite laminates in which the fibers are arranged
in different orientations. Hence, vests are capable of resisting loads
in several directions. The laminates were arranged in 45/+45 ori-
entations which can absorb more energy than that of 0–90 orien-
tations stacked on each other [29]. The stiffness of such
laminates comes from the properties of various constitutional ele-
ments. The vests consist of 20 layers of kevlar-29 fiber for maxi-
mum performance out of which ten layers were replaced by
graphene for analysis. The specifications of the bulletproof vests
are given in Table 2.

Fig. 4. Dynamic impact analysis results of graphene reinforced kevlar vests (a) Total deformation of ruptured bullet parts against graphene reinforced kevlar vests (b) Plot of
total deformation of bullet parts against time (c) Equivalent (von-mises) stress of graphene reinforced kevlar vests (d) Plot of equivalent stresses developed in the vest against
time. (e) Maximum principal stress of graphene reinforced kevlar vests (f) Plot of maximum principal stress against time (g) Directional velocity of bullet (h) Plot of the
directional velocity of the bullet against time. (a) and (b) shows the total deformation of the ruptured bullet parts which is about 1.091 m. (c) shows equivalent stress of about
4264 MPa is induced in the vest. (e) and (f) is showing maximum principal stress induced in the deformed layers of graphene kevlar is 1897.3 MPa. (g) and (h) shows the
directional velocity of bullet along the x-direction.
792 S. Vignesh et al. / Materials Today: Proceedings 45 (2021) 788–793
Bullets are made up of a variety of materials. A lead alloy con-
taining antimony is the most commonly used core material. Bullets
are usually jacketed by copper alloys of nickel or zinc. The type IV
bullet Springfield 0.30–0.06 is chosen for analysis due to its high
velocity and power. Specifications of 0.30–06 Springfield are given
in Table 3.
3. Results and discussion
The initial conditions employed in this dynamic analysis of the
kevlar-29 vests included fixing the positions of the edges of the
vest plates (i.e. Ux = Uy = Uz = 0 and Uxy = Uyz = Uzx = 0) and the
application of a pre-stress value of zero to the plates. A velocity
of about 900 m/sec was given to the bullet that is to be intended
on the plate. The analysis was done without taking into account
the impact of weaving and knitting processes and also the effect
of resin used for binding the various layers of materials [30]
(Table 4).
Table 4
Comparison of ballistic analysis properties of kevlar and Graphene-kevlar armor.
Parameters Kevlar armor Graphene-kevlar armor
Equivalent stress 8825 MPa 4264 MPa
Total deformation 0.2494 m 1.091 m
Maximum principal stress 9644 MPa 1897 MPa
Fig. 3 shows that the total deformation of the vests after the bal-
listic impact by a 900 m/s velocity 0.30–06 Springfield is about
0.16482 m. Equivalent stress of about 121.3 MPa and maximum
principal stress of 9644.8 MPa is observed in the deformed layers
of kevlar. The initial velocity of the bullet is 900 m/s in the negative
x-direction. The directional velocity plot shows that the velocity
curve changes from negative to positive after the dynamic impact.
This positive value shows that the bullet is rebound after hard-
hitting the vest plate and moves in the positive x-direction with
a velocity of about 869.24 m/s. This means the kinetic energy of
the bullet is absorbed by the kevlar-29 vest material [31].
When compared to the kevlar-29, graphene laminates need
higher energy for breakdown even at very low elongation due to
its high strength and modulus. Moreover, graphene is more flexible
than that of the kevlar material that results in fewer breakages in
weaving and knitting processes. From Fig. 4, it can be found that
the total deformation of ruptured bullet parts occurring in the pos-
itive x-direction is 1.091 m. And the equivalent stress induced in
the vest is 4264 MPa which is nearly half the stress induced in
the kevlar-29 based vests. The maximum principal stress induced
in the deformed layers of graphene kevlar is about 1897.3 MPa,
which means the maximum principal stress is reduced to nearly
81%. The maximum directional velocity is 1088.7 m/s in the posi-
tive x-direction which means the bullet rebounds back with a
higher velocity than that of the kevlar-based vests.
4. Conclusion
The modular jackets are meant to provide graded levels of pro-
tection depending upon the mission to be undertaken. For many
years, woven Kevlar and other aramid fibers were used to make
bulletproof vests. However new materials possessing excellent
properties such as lightweight and higher resistance have been
developed recently which can be used in making bulletproof vests.
Graphene is one such material having all the supreme ballistic
properties which can increase the overall performance of the vests.
In this project, the dynamic analysis of kevlar-29 and graphene
reinforced vests when impacted with a 0.30–06 Springfield bullet
was done. The important ballistic properties of the materials such
as equivalent stress, total deformation, and maximum principal
stresses were investigated and the conclusions enunciated are
given below.
 Inclusion of ten graphene laminates of 2.7 mm thickness in
between the kevlar layers had reduced the total deformation
of the bulletproof jacket and increased the stability of the vest.
 The equivalent stress developed in the vest was reduced to
nearly one by half by the inclusion of graphene laminates and
the maximum principal stress induced in the deformed vest lay-
ers was reduced to a great extent by the addition of graphene
layers.
 Thus the strength of the bulletproof jacket can be improved by
reinforcement of Graphene in between the kevlar layers.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
S. Vignesh: Conceptualization, Methodology, Software, Writing
- original draft. R. Surendran: Supervision, Project administration.
T. Sekar: . B. Rajeswari: Resources.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing finan-
cial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared
to influence the work reported in this paper.
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