Evaluation and Experimentation of Tensile Mechanics in Relation to Repurposed Marine Netting and Industrial Polymers for FPV Drone Defense

Abstract

Passive kinetic barriers present a low-cost, zero-power countermeasure against First-Person View (FPV) unmanned aerial vehicles (UA Vs) in tactical environments where active RF jamming or electronic countermeasures are restricted or ineffective. This paper evaluates the technical viability of repurposing disused commercial fishing netting; specifically Polyamide 6.6 (Nylon), High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE), and Polypropylene (PP) Copolymer recovered from port infrastructure as deployable anti drone meshes. Utilizing secondary mechanical datasets and analytical structural mechanics models, candidate polymers were evaluated across kinetic strain energy absorption ( 𝑈 = ∫ 𝐹(𝑥)𝑑𝑥), dynamic rotor shear survival ( τ), catenary suspension anchor loads ( 𝑇𝑦0= 𝑤𝐿2/8ℎ 𝐹𝑑), and crosswind aerodynamic drag. Analytical results demonstrate that while Nylon 6.6 provides the highest strain energy absorption density (𝑈) due to its high tensile strength (85MPa) and low initial mass per unit area, its hygroscopic nature (8% water absorption) and rapid UV degradation limit long-term field stability. Conversely, HDPE (1.40mm strand diameter) and Polypropylene (1.50mm strand diameter) successfully survive rotor impact shear stresses across 4-strand and 32-strand configurations, with HDPE achieving a safety factor margin of 0.10x yield stress under a 192. 90𝐽kinetic impact. A Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) across two operational scenarios establishes HDPE as the optimal material for long-span outdoor perimeter defense due to its complete hydrophobicity, cut resistance, and superior UV longevity, whereas Nylon 6.6 remains superior for compact, indoor structural enclosures.