Ballistic Testing and Simulation of Co-continuous Ceramic Composite for Body Armour

Co-Continuous Ceramic Composites, referred to as C۴, have bi-continuous, interconnected and interpenetrating phases of a metal and ceramic. This bestows such composites with a higher strength to weight ratio compared with traditional composites. In this research work, a C۴ composite of AA۵۰۸۳/SiC is fabricated for personal body armour, using gravity infiltration technique. A numerical simulation model of the C۴ specimen is developed. This finite element model is utilized to simulate the DoP of a subsonic bullet into the C۴ and is estimated as ۱.۴۷ mm. The C۴ specimen is then, subjected to ballistic tests. A medium velocity projectile with a rated velocity of ۳۲۶ m/s is used to impact the C۴ specimen. The ballistic tests validate the numerical simulation with a DoP of ۱.۵ mm. Visual inspection reveals brittle cracks and interfacial debonding in the impacted C۴. The results indicate that, such composites can potentially be utilized as low cost body armour.

Keywords:

Co-continuous Ceramic Composite , depth of penetration , Impact testing , numerical simulation