Effect of incorporation of nano-sized silica particles as suspending agent in a shear thickened fluid (STF) pre-impregnated aramid fabric under high velocity impact

Concentrated suspensions of non-aggregating solid particles, with considering shear rate range, will show (reversible) shear thickening behavior. One novel application which hasappear in the past two decades has been the use of shear thickening fluid (STF) materials for ballistic protection andenergy absorption. Ballistic protection materials such as Kevlar® and Twaron® has been widely used[1-3]. This paper explore and evaluate shear thickening characteristic of fumedsilica Aerosil OX 50 in various loading suspended in polyethylene glycol for energy absorption application