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DOI: 10.1177/1528083717692593
behavior of plain woven journals.sagepub.com/home/jit

kenaf/aramid reinforced
polyvinyl butyral hybrid
laminates

Suhad D Salman1,2, Z Leman1, MR Ishak3, MTH Sultan3,4

and F Cardona3

Abstract
Owing to the high cost of synthetic aramid fibers and the necessity for environmentally
friendly alternatives, a portion of aramid was replaced by plain woven kenaf fiber,
with different lay arrangements and thicknesses. The obtained hybrid composites
with aramid and kenaf fibers were used to produce prototypes of army helmet shells.
A hybrid composite material was produced using a hot press technique and comprises
19 layers of plain woven kenaf and aramid of various configurations and alternation.
The behavior of this composite material on a quasi-static penetration test was studied
and was found positive in terms of maximum load carried, energy absorbed in impact,
and damage mechanisms. Consequently, a helmet armour was developed that was less
costly and more readily available and that which could also be produced by reducing the
potential harmful effects of petroleum products, without compromising the ballistic-
resistant capability of the material.

Keywords
Quasi-static, kevlar, kenaf, hybrid

1
Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia
2
Materials Engineering Department, University of Mustansiriyah, Iraq
3
Aerospace Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC), Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia
4
Laboratory of Bio-Composites Technology, Institute of Tropical Forestry and Forest Products (INTROP),
Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia

Corresponding author:
Suhad D Salman, Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Fakulti
Pengajian Alam Sekitar, Serdang 43400, Malaysia.
Email: suhaddawood2007@yahoo.com
2 Journal of Industrial Textiles 0(00)

Introduction
The global market for personal protection systems itself is worth 300400 million Euros
per year [1], with annual growth rates of more than 5%. Ballistic helmet shell type
Personnel Armour System Ground Troops (PASGT) is a standard infantry combat
wear in the US military that has changed relatively little since the 1970s. The shell is a
one-piece structure composed of multiple layers of Kevlar ballistic ber (at least 19
layers) reinforced phenolic polyvinyl butyral-phenolic (PVB) resin. The primary goal
of the PASGT helmet shell is to protect the soldier from a variety of prevailing threats
by limiting the perforation of fragments or knife through the helmet [2]. Kevlar bers
are among the high-performance bers used as the reinforcement in many high-velocity
impact applications in protecting against projectiles and fragments [3]. Thermoplastic
composite materials play the crucial role of dissipating energy due to various inter-
laminar damage mechanisms such as high delamination resistance and transverse shear
failures, and are critical in determining the impact properties of composites in ballistic
applications. In 2012, Erkendirci and Haque [4] carried out experiments to determine
the quasi-static penetration resistance of a glass/ high-density polyethylene (HDPE)
composite systems with varying thicknesses. They concluded that matrix fracture and
ber sliding failures were the main mechanisms in quasi-static tests, for thick-walled
panels. Further research on optimizing the layered congurations with the geometry
and manufacturing process of the carbon-reinforced ultra-high molecular weight poly-
ethylene (UHMWPE) was carried out by Winkelmann et al. [5]. Considerably higher
ductility and an average penetration resistance force were experienced in these com-
posites. However, these materials raise practical issues such as high cost and the poten-
tial for harmful eects during manufacturing, including eye, skin, and respiratory
irritation [6]. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop an alternative material such
that the dependency towards synthetic materials will be reduced. Therefore, hybrid-
ization of natural bers with synthetic bers to form a hybrid composite is an alterna-
tive for the creation of a new material with combined advantages.
In recent years due to renewable issues, environmental concerns, and the nancial
problems of synthetic bers, the development of high-performance engineering prod-
ucts made from natural resources is increasing all over the world. Many researchers
have been encouraged to develop new hybrid composites with natural bers to
reduce the dependency towards the ballistic resistance component. Natural bers
have been used in many industrial applications intensely because of their energy
dissipation capabilities and damage tolerance. Kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L.)
bast ber is the most suitable natural ber for hybridization with Kevlar using the
analytical hierarchy process (AHP) [7]. This has the highest priority among 13 natural
ber alternatives [8]. Furthermore, kenaf exibility is one of the important technical
characteristics, which allow it to resist impact forces. Hybridization of kenaf and
synthetic bers has several advantages as it reduces dependency on petroleum, which
is the source of synthetic bers [9].
A few attempts have been made to study the response of natural/synthetic
reinforced thermoplastic/thermoset composites under quasi-static conditions [10].
Salman et al. 3

Recently, experimental works have been reported on the quasi-static response of

the natural ber composites. The rst serious discussions and analyses were carried
out in 2004 by Mahdi et al. [11], who evaluated the potential of using hybrid and
nonhybrid oil palm and coir bers reinforced polyester. It was concluded that the
panel geometry has the greatest eect in increasing the utmost energy absorption
and the lifetime rupture. In 2012, Meredith et al. [12] performed experiments on
the potential of using jute, ax, and hemp bers in structural applications. It was
concluded that the thickness of the natural composites has a great eect on their
impact propertieshigh thickness led to improved energy absorption, which had
comparable impact properties with chopped strand E-glass composite. More
recently, quasi-static penetration properties of non-woven kenaf ber/Kevlar-
reinforced epoxy hybrid have been experimentally investigated by Yahaya et al.
[13], for ballistic armour spall-liner application. They concluded that the maximum
force to initiate penetration, absorbed penetration energy, and maximum load were
enhanced using one layer of kenaf yarn between two layers of Kevlar.
This work focuses on the potential for kenaf bers to replace Kevlar bers for future
environmentally friendly energy absorption structures with a focus on PASGT helmet
shell. Identifying the proper conguration of woven kenaf ber, PVB lm, and
reinforcement architecture under quasi-static penetration condition is the goal of
this study, to evaluate the energy-dissipating capacity and damage mechanisms.

Materials and methods

Materials
Two types of woven fabrics were used: plain woven kenaf (not coated) and
Heracron aramid bers double-side coated with 12% weight PVB phenolic, as
shown in Figure 1. PVB lm was used between the kenaf layers to bond the layers
together. Table 1 shows the physical characteristics of plain woven kenaf [14],
supplied by ZKK Sdn Bhd, Malaysia. PVB-phenolic is a member of vinyl polymers

Figure 1. Plain woven (a) Heracron aramid coated with PVB-phenolic, (b) Kenaf fiber (not
coated), (c) PVB film.
4 Journal of Industrial Textiles 0(00)

Table 1. Physical and mechanical properties of materials (technical sheet).

Areal Average Average

Thickness density Density breaking maximum
Material (mm) (g/m2) (g/cm3) strength (MPa) strain (%)

Woven kenaf 2  0.2 890 1.2 101 17.3

Heracron aramid coated 0.6 704 1.173 2390 3.3
with PVB-phenolic
PVB film 0.38 410 1.078  20  200

with the addition of 5% phenolic, always used to manufacture traditional PASGT

helmets because of its low cost, easy fabrication, long lasting, and good mechanical
and chemical properties [15]. PVB lm is one of the most popular interlayers used
for laminated safety glass, commonly used in the automotive and architectural
elds bonded between two panels of glass. The polymer interlayer of PVB is
tough and ductile, mostly used for applications that require strong binding, adhe-
sion to many surfaces, toughness, and exibility. A very good bonding is observed
between the aramid and kenaf bers, and the stress redistribution from the PVB
lm to the bers takes place through its bond/interphase.
A high level of environmental awareness and its delicate balance represents a
pillar of natural corporate culture to construct systems with a very low environ-
mental impact. Kenaf bers and PVB have adopted an environmentally friendly
corporate policy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and introduced innovative
solutions for the sustainable, more responsible use of natural resources. However,
researchers are still continuously embarking on the possibility of using natural
bers due to their disadvantage, which could be decreased by hybridizing with
synthetic bers.
The hot hydraulic press technique was used to fabricate hybrid laminates of
dierent kenaf ber weight contents with PVB lm and Heracron aramid fabric
coated with a PVB-phenolic lm, as shown in Figure 2. Table 2 illustrates the
various conguration layers and stacking sequence of the hybrids laminates.
In order to reduce the number of aramid layers and to identify the eect of layering
sequence, plain woven kenaf layers were placed in 12 dierent locations. Studies are
also carried out on 19 layers of aramid/PVB-phenolic composite and plain woven
kenaf/PVB composite for the purpose of comparison.
Figure 3 illustrates an example of fabricating hybrid H5 and H5A. Eleven
Kevlar layers, 8 kenaf layers, and 9 PVB lm layers were all cut to identical size
(150  150 mm2 sheets) and then arranged according to their stacking order. To
fabricate a square at laminated hybrid H5 panel, 11 coated Kevlar/PVB phenolic
layers were arranged together and then the PVB lm layers were stacked between 8
woven kenaf layers. While in hybrid H5A, the 11 coated Kevlar layers were stacked
alternatively with 8 kenaf and 9 PVB layers. Consequently, H5 and H5A have the
same Kevlar, kenaf, and PVB layers number but with a dierent arrangement. A
Salman et al. 5

Figure 2. The hybrid composite specimens prepared using the hot press technique.

mold release agent was sprayed on the mold surfaces before any molding process to
prevent adhesion as well as to obtain a smooth sample surface. Stacks of 19 layers
of dierent laminates were centered between two stainless-steel molds and hot
plates of a compression molding press. Subsequently, the platens were closed,
and the hot press plates were heated to 165 C for 20 min where compression pres-
sure was set to 8 MPa, as shown in Figure 4. Once the temperature of the platens
reached 165 C, the compression pressure was increased to 8 MPa and held constant
for 15 min. After this compression cycle, the platen temperature was reduced to
room temperature (25 C), while the pressure was maintained at 8 MPa until the
temperature reached 25 C. Once the platen temperature reached 25 C, the hybrid
Table 2. Specifications of the laminated hybrid composites. 6
Areal Fiber volume fraction (%)
Specimens Sample Test direction/Stacking Specimens density
descriptions code sequence thickness (mm) (kg/m2) Kevlar Kenaf

19 Kevlar KV 8.8 10.20 61.94 0

17 Kevlar/ 2 Kenaf H1 10.1 11.54 48.42 11.62

17 Kevlar/ 2 Kenaf Alt. H1A 10.1 11.54 48.42 11.62

16 Kevlar/ 3 Kenaf H2 10.6 12.07 43.56 16.69

16 Kevlar/ 3 Kenaf Alt. H2A 10.6 12.07 43.56 16.69

15 Kevlar/ 4 Kenaf H3 11.1 12.61 39.14 21.28

15 Kevlar/ 4 Kenaf Alt. H3A 11.1 12.61 39.14 21.28

Journal of Industrial Textiles 0(00)

(continued)
Table 2. Continued.

Areal Fiber volume fraction (%)

Specimens Sample Test direction/Stacking Specimens density
descriptions code sequence thickness (mm) (kg/m2) Kevlar Kenaf
Salman et al.

13 Kevlar/6 Kenaf H4 12.3 13.77 31.29 29.46

13 Kevlar/ 6 Kenaf Alt. H4A 12.3 13.77 31.29 29.46

11 Kevlar/ 8 Kenaf H5 13.1 14.52 24.55 36.44

11 Kevlar/ 8 Kenaf Alt. H5A 13.1 14.52 24.55 36.44

9 Kevlar/10 Kenaf H6 14.3 15.73 18.75 42.48

9 Kevlar/ 10 Kenaf Alt. H6A 14.3 15.73 18.75 42.48

19 Kenaf KF 17 18.52 0 61.96

7
8 Journal of Industrial Textiles 0(00)

Figure 3. Stacking sequence of hybrids H5 and H5A.

Figure 4. Compression molding hot press and temperature profile. (a) Hot press; (b) pro-
cessing cycle.

composite laminates were taken out of the compression molding frame.

The dimensions and mass of the hybrid laminates were measured to calculate the
density and the areal density of the hybrid materials.

Quasi-static penetration test

The quasi-static perforation test was conducted to study the damage evolution and
penetration resistance behavior of the hybrid laminates. It was also used to evalu-
ate the eect of hybridization on the energy absorption of hybrid laminated com-
posites under transverse loading without a dynamic eect [4]. The methodology of
the quasi-static tests follow the standard D 6264 [16], using a universal testing
machine with 100 kN capacity. Figure 5 presents the xture adapted in the
Instron machine during the quasi-static test, which was conducted in the composite
laboratory of the Mechanical Engineering Department, Universiti Putra Malaysia.
Salman et al. 9

Figure 5. The quasi-static test setup and fully clamped boundary conditions.

The xture is composed of a bottom support plate (200  200 mm2, 50 mm thick) with
a circular hole at the center and a square top cover plate (200  200 mm2, 20 mm
thick) with a circular hole similar to the support plate. The ratio between the support
span and the punch diameter (span-to-punch ratio) was SPR = Ds/Dp =8.0,
as shown in Figure 4. A series of quasi-static tests were performed using a sur-
face-hardened steel indenter with hemispherical tip, 9 mm diameter into the face of
the hybrid composite plates. The hybrid composite samples (square with a length of
150 mm) were bolted between the cover plate and bottom support plate by
four screws, at the four corners. The penetration resistance forcedisplacement
curves were recorded, at a crosshead displacement rate of 1.27 mm/min. Then
the energy dissipated was calculated by integrating the area under the curve.
This is correlated with the observed damage. Hybrid composite plate specimens
were sectioned along the center of penetration using a grinding cutting machine for
damage surface observation.

Results and discussion

Experiments were performed under quasi-static penetration loading conditions to
study the eect of hybridization on the energy absorption of hybrid laminated
composites and damage mechanisms. Figure 6 shows the penetration resistance
forcedisplacement curves for the Kevlar 29/PVB-phenolic and kenaf/PVB com-
posites, as well as H1, H2, H3, H4, H5, H6 hybrid composites. Figure 7 presents
the penetration resistance force with penetrator displacement curves of Kevlar
29/PVB-phenolic and kenaf/PVB composites as well as H1A, H2A, H3A, H4A,
10 Journal of Industrial Textiles 0(00)

Figure 6. Penetration forcedisplacement curves of kenaf, Kevlar composites, and their hybrids.

Figure 7. Penetration forcedisplacement curves of kenaf, Kevlar composites, and their alter-
native laminated hybrids.
Salman et al. 11

Figure 8. Penetration forcedisplacement curves of each hybrid and its alternative laminate.

H5A, H6A hybrid composites, where alternative Kevlar layers with kenaf layers
were fabricated with dierent stacking sequences. Figure 8 shows the penetration
tests for the same number of Kevlar and kenaf layers but with dierent congur-
ations, in order to compare the penetration resistance results of each material.
Generally, these curves show a bilinear behavior and the line slope changes
(increases) as the number of kenaf layers increases, until a maximum load peak.
Initially, the penetration occurred at the initial failure on the matrix, then
the indenter moved through the thickness of the hybrid composites by pushing
the bers aside, and matrix failure occurred. Then, the force displacement shows
a second-linear section up to the maximum force compression-shear followed by
a perforation region due to progressive force drop, tension-shear causing ber
breakage associated with the residual frictional force. H1, H2, H3, H4, H5, and H6
hybrid composite laminates show a load drop behavior in the shape of a knee,
where delamination occurs. When comparing H1A, H2A, H3A, H4A, H5A,
and H6A (alternative hybrids) testing results with their alternate hybrids (H1,
H2, H3, H4, H5, H6), dierent failure zones that are characterized by incremental
load was observed, as shown in Figure 7. Furthermore, when the number of kenaf
12 Journal of Industrial Textiles 0(00)

Figure 9. Maximum penetration load of all hybrid composites.

Figure 10. Penetration energy of all hybrid composites.

layers increases, the force displacement shows a staircase behavior, which leads to
the gradual rupture of the specimens, as shown in Figure 8(e) and (f). Similar
behaviors are noted and reported by Deka [17] on the forcedisplacement curves
of glass/polypropylene and carbon/polypropylene laminates. It was observed that
the composites exhibited a larger eective displacement for complete penetration
because of the visco-elastic-plastic behavior of the polypropylene system.
The maximum penetration load-carrying capacities are found to vary with dif-
ferent hybrid tests, which gradually decrease when the number of kenaf layers
increased in general, as shown in Figure 9.
Figure 10 shows the energy absorption during the penetration process as mea-
sured by the area under the forcedisplacement curves in Figures 6 and 7 and these
values are listed in Table 3. It is clear that the energy absorption and maximum
penetration force of Kevlar composite are higher than all hybrid composites and
kenaf composite. Hybrid H1 shows the highest energy absorption, signifying that
Salman et al. 13

Table 3. Energy absorption and maximum load of quasi-static tested

samples.

Sample Specimens Energy Maximum

code descriptions absorption (J) force (kN)

KV 19 Kevlar 409.7 44.63

H1 17 Kevlar/2 Kenaf 385.1 43.41
H1A 17 Kevlar/2 Kenaf [Alt.] 368.9 42.14
H2 16 Kevlar/3 Kenaf 377.6 40.72
H2A 16 Kevlar/3 Kenaf [Alt.] 336.5 40.11
H3 15 Kevlar/4 Kenaf 370.9 39.09
H3A 15 Kevlar/4 Kenaf [Alt.] 311.9 36.53
H4 13 Kevlar/6 Kenaf 313.4 37.47
H4A 13 Kevlar/6 Kenaf [Alt.] 219.1 29.36
H5 11 Kevlar/8 Kenaf 241.9 30.54
H5A 11 Kevlar/8 Kenaf [Alt.] 137.9 22.06
H6 9 Kevlar/10 Kenaf 116.7 19.86
H6A 9 Kevlar/10 Kenaf [Alt.] 101.1 17.21
KF 19 Kenaf layers 44.0 6.87

this hybrid conguration provides a better penetration resistance compared to

other hybrid materials. While hybrid H1A, alternate layers of kenaf and Kevlar
exhibited less energy absorption compared to the hybrid H1, at the same number of
layers. Both bulged out and higher delamination occurred in the interlaminar sur-
face for Kevlar layers alternatively fabricated with kenaf layers. Similar to hybrid
H1A, hybrids H2A, H3A, H4A, H5A, and H6A exhibited less energy compared to
hybrids H2, H3, H4, H5, and H6. It seems that hybrids with placing woven kenaf
together and Kevlar 29 layers separately were able to hinder the propagation of
cracks generated more than hybrids with alternate layers of kenaf and Kevlar, for
the same hybrid volume and thickness. This is because the natural bers tend to be
coarser and thicker than those of the synthetic bers, which signicantly aects the
quality of interfacial adhesion by decreasing the bond strength. This implies that
both the eect of interlaminar and interfacial strength between the layers highly
decide hybrid properties, most likely due to the presence of more interfaces, as
previously suggested [18]. As conrmed by experimental results, the laminate con-
guration heavily aects the hybrid response, as reported in other studies [19,20].
As reported by Erkendirci and Haque [4], dierent material surfaces cause more
delamination, which alters the magnitude of the friction forces corresponding to
the decrease in the energy absorption for the materials. A similar trend was also
observed in the ballistic limit and energy absorbed for these laminated composites
[21]. It was reported that these hybrid materials showed a similar energy absorption
relationship with the increase in the impact velocity. An increase in the energy
14 Journal of Industrial Textiles 0(00)

Figure 11. Specific energy absorption and energy density of all hybrid composites.

absorbed by the hybrids was also observed until the ballistic limit of each hybrid.
The ballistic limit ranged between 417.8 m/s and 691 m/s [22].
In Figure 11, the specic energy at maximum quasi-static force was compared
with the energy density for each hybrid. Specic energy absorption was calculated
by dividing the total energy absorption by the mass of each hybrid, while the
energy density was calculated by dividing the total energy absorption by the density
of each hybrid. The results indicate that the specic energy absorption is dimin-
ished with increasing the kenaf bers layers compared to the Kevlar composite.
This is due to the dierence in the energy absorbed capability and density of the
bers. Among the hybrid composites, H1 recorded the highest specic energy
absorption compared to others, reaching 94% of the total energy absorbed by
the Kevlar composites. Not much dierence was observed in the energy absorbed
of H1A hybrid composite, reaching 90% of that of the total Kevlar composites.
However, for H2 hybrid composite, the energy absorbed at maximum quasi-
static penetration force was 92% of the total energy absorbed by the Kevlar com-
posites, which is higher than H1A hybrid composite. This may be attributed to
the large coecient of friction when stacking the same ber layers, which resists the
formation of a complete shear plug and increases the energy absorbed value.
The sequence in hybrid laminates plays a critical role in the penetration of the
laminates due to dierent stinesses and friction coecients between the layers, as
stated by Al-Kinani [23]. The KF hybrid sample recorded the lowest specic energy
absorption due to the low interfacial adhesion of bers with the matrix as explained
by Gama and Gillespie [24], leading to the transverse matrix damage and shear
plug formation corresponding to the delamination.
Figure 12 shows the eect of the volume fraction of kenaf and Kevlar contents
on the energy absorbed for all hybrid laminated composites. It can be clearly seen
that with an increase in the kenaf volume fraction, the energy absorbed decreases.
The energy absorbed curve increases with the increment in the Kevlar volume
fraction. Overall results in quasi-static tests indicate that approximately 30%
Salman et al. 15

Figure 12. Energyfiber volume fraction curves of kenaf and Kevlar hybrid composites.

volume fraction of both kenaf and Kevlar bers are more eective in the energy
absorbed value.
To evaluate the eect of hybridization of the kenaf ber, percentage changes in
the energy (E%) and maximum load (F%) of the hybrid composites were deter-
mined using the following equations [23]

Ek  EH
%E 100% 1
EK

FK  FH
%F 100% 2
FK

where EK is the energy absorption of the Kevlar composite and EH is the energy
absorptions of the hybrid, while FK is the maximum load of Kevlar composite and
FH is the maximum load of the hybrid.
Figure 13 shows the eect of the addition of kenaf ber in the Kevlar composite
with reference to the absorbed energy and the maximum penetration load. A sig-
nicant increase in the absorbing energy and maximum load with the highest values
in H6 and H6A was recorded, where the high percentage of kenaf bers were used.

Damage mechanisms
Post-test examination of selected specimens was performed to analyze the failure
mechanisms during the quasi-static tests. Cross-sections of selected samples at
the impact region were cut along the thickness direction to observe the damage
failure modes after tests. The failures that occurred due to the penetrated loads by
quasi-static punch were: ber shear by compression-shear on the impacted surface
(that exhibited a load plateau) and ber shear by tension-shear on the rear
16 Journal of Industrial Textiles 0(00)

Figure 13. Percentage changes in energy and maximum load of the hybrid composites.

surface (complete perforation of conical penetrator), as shown in Figure 14. The

crack propagation in all the hybrids was predominantly driven through the inter-
laminar regions; therefore, the interphase region appears to have signicant
eects that inuence the overall hybrid properties. Delamination in the region
of the punch penetration and ber breakage due to shear and tension occurred in
the interlaminar and intralaminar regions. All the hybrid laminated composites
presented similar damage behavior to that of the Kevlar composite, as shown in
Figure 14(a). We observed that placing the woven kenaf layers together and
Kevlar 29 layers separately is the most eective way for impact resistance, as
shown in Figure 14(b). The delamination area is only on the back side of all
hybrids where woven kenaf layers alternate with Kevlar 29 fabric layers, as
shown in Figure 14(c). This bond strength can be observed from the saturated
aramid and kenaf bers when there is good bermatrix interface strength, such
as that induced by relatively slow crack growth rates. This means that some PVB
matrix is left on the aramid and kenaf bers, which lead to prevention of the
damage growth promotion and premature failure. Under such conditions, the
preferential fracture at the bermatrix interface will also reduce the degree of
matrix deformation. This suggests that separate laminates are more eective in
dissipating energy than the alternative fabric in the application of armour. For
the kenaf composite, the impact surface was compressed due to plunger punch
and an exact plunger shaped cavity was created when full penetration was
achieved, as shown in Figure 14(d).
Figure 15 illustrates an example of stacking sequence arrangements of the
hybrid H5 and H5A. Bonding surfaces among the interlaminar layers are clearly
seen. Similar behavior of other types of hybrid materials has been documented
in Pandyas research paper [25]. The main damage mechanisms in these hybrid
materials were: ber tensile failure and matrix cracking. It is postulated that delam-
ination only starts at an advanced stage of the loading, resulting in a small rhombic
region of delamination just before the specimen is perforated. Generally, Kevlar
Salman et al. 17

Figure 14. Optical pictures of damaged surface of hybrid composite laminates after quasi-static
test, cross-sectional surface, rear surface, and impacted surface: (a) Kevlar composite (KV),
(b) hybrid of placing kenaf layers and Kevlar 29 layers separately (H1), (c) hybrid of placing kenaf
layers alternately with Kevlar 29 layers (H1A), (d) kenaf composite (KF).

Figure 15. Optical pictures of stacking sequence of: (a) H5 hybrid; (b) H5A hybrid composites.
18 Journal of Industrial Textiles 0(00)

and kenaf bers rupture as well as matrix fracture were the major failure modes in
the high-impact tests, whereas in quasi-static tests the failures were more of matrix
fracture and Kevlar and kenaf bers sliding.

Conclusions
The eects of hybridization and stacking sequence of hybrid composite materials
on the energy absorption under quasi-static penetration were investigated. Based
on the results, the following specic conclusions were drawn:

a. All hybrid composites absorbed more penetration energy compared to kenaf/

PVB composites.
b. Hybrid composites with two layers of kenaf bers (H1 and H1A) gave max-
imum penetration force and impact energy absorption.
c. Kenaf/Kevlar hybridization produced a positive eect in terms of increasing
energy absorption and maximum load changes compared to the kenaf composites.
d. All hybrid laminates showed a decrease in the percentage of absorbed energy in
comparison with the Kevlar laminates, such as 5% for H1 and 7% for H2, and
this eect increased with increasing kenaf content.
e. The tested samples were optically observed and it was found that the failure
mechanism followed the form of delaminated area in a conical shape for
completely penetrated perforation. Additionally, a punched-out eect was
observed on the back of the ply in the case of panels that were partially
penetrated, including Kevlar and kenaf bers breakages, Kevlar and kenaf
bers stretching, shear, Kevlar and kenaf bers, and matrix rupture and
cracking.

This approach of producing hybrid composite materials is expected to develop

new composite structures that are less costly and more readily available compared
to the conventional helmet material including the reduction in the use and content
of the synthetic bers. This research will open a new and more environmentally
friendly alternative in military equipment, aerospace, marine, and civilian struc-
tures, which will reduce the use of Kevlar fabric in ballistic laminate composites,
and meets the required baseline performance specications.

Acknowledgements
The authors would like to express their gratitude and sincere appreciation to the Mechanical
and Manufacturing Engineering Department and Aerospace Manufacturing Research
Centre of the Universiti Putra Malaysia.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conicts of interest with respect to the research, author-
ship, and/or publication of this article.
Salman et al. 19

Funding
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following nancial support for the research, author-
ship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by UPM under GP-IPS/
2014/9438714 and GP-IPB grants, 9415402. The authors appreciation and gratitude also
extend to the Ministry of Higher Education & Scientic Research of Iraq and to the
Material Engineering Department, College of Engineering, at the University of
Mustansiriyah, for scientic assistance and nancial support.

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