Effective damage mechanisms and performance evaluation of ceramic composite armors subjected to impact loading

Abstract

Researches on the armor systems composed of composite materials with ceramic frontal face and polymer-based back-support are continuously developing further. This study, which mainly covers the impact behavior of ceramic composite armors, is a two-stage research. The first stage involves the investigation of component-level impact characteristics and failure mechanisms of the ceramic composite armors. At this stage, low-velocity impact behavior of ceramics and fiber-reinforced composites is investigated. Impact test results revealed that impact loading is of dynamic nature and strength of the composite materials under dynamic loading increases considerably as a result of strain rate sensitivity, which makes them the right choice to be used in conjunction with ceramics in armor systems. The second stage examines the ballistic impact behavior and ballistic performance of the armor systems. The extent and pattern of impact damage related to projectile velocity are determined for the armor components and the armor itself.