Numerical and experimental study of armour system consisted of ceramic and ceramic- elastomer composites

The paper presents numerical and experimental results in the study of composite armour systems for ballistic protection. The modelling of protective structures and simulation methods of experiment as well as the finite elements method were implemented in LS DYNA software. Three armour systems with different thickness of layers were analyzed. Discretization for each option was built with three dimensional elements guaranteeing satisfactory accuracy of the calculations. Two selected armour configurations have been ballistically tested using the armour piercing (AP) 7.62 mm calibre. The composite armour systems were made of Al2O3 ceramics placed on the strike face and high strength steel as a backing material. In case of one ballistic structure system an intermediate ceramic- elastomer layer was applied. Ceramic- elastomer composites were obtained from porous ceramics with porosity gradient using pressure infiltration of porous ceramics by elastomer. The urea-urethane elastomer, as a reactive liquid was introduced into pores. As a result composites, in which two phases were interconnecting three-dimensionally and topologically throughout the microstructure, were obtained. Upon ballistic impact, kinetic energy was dissipated by ceramic body The residual energy was absorbed by intermediate composite layer. Effect of the composite shell application on crack propagation of ceramic body was observed.