| Ballistic Resistance of Silicon-Carbide-Based Ceramic and
Ultrahigh-Molecular-Weight Polyethylene Composite Armor |
Yu-Liang Chen,a Cheng-Kun Chu,b, * Yi-Zhong Chena and Shang-Cheng Liua
Page : 69-82
DOI : 10.1080/0371750X.2024.2307622 |
| Abstract |
| In this study, the ballistic resistance of SiC (silicon carbide) and a SiC mixture S80B20
(80% SiC/20% B4C) backed with UHMWPE (ultra-high-molecular-weight-polyethylene)
fiber board was investigated by striking it with a .30-06 armor piercing projectile. The
front plate of the high hardness ceramics is intended to passivate the bullet and limit
the bullet’s impact kinetic energy, and the high strength backing plate undergoes
plastic deformation, absorbing the bullet’s residual energy. Ballistic tests revealed
that an 8 mm thick S80B20 ceramics produced at a sintering temperature of 2120o or
2140oC, combined with a composite plate, can successfully resist .30-06 armorpiercing
rounds with energy greater than 3900 J. The optimal SiC plate meeting the
NIJ 0101.06 Level IV was an 8 mm thick SiC sheet backed with 9 mm of fiber board
(total thickness, 17 mm; areal density, 33.217 g/m2). The 8 mm thick 80% SiC/20% B4C
plate sintered at 2120oC, backed with 7 mm fiber board, had an areal density of only
29.615 kg/m2. If the depth of penetration is less than 44 mm, the fiber board thickness
must be increased from 7 to 8 mm, increasing the areal density to 30.552 kg/m2.
Compared with the SiC ballistic plate, the density of the composite is 2.665 kg/m2
lower.
[Keywords: Silicon carbide, UHMWPE, Armor piercing projectile, Sintering
temperature, Areal density] |
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