Numerical Analysis of Ceramic Composite Armour Subjected to Ballistic Impact

Abstract

A numerical investigation is presented in this work to study the ballistic performance of Aluminum Oxide (Al203) ceramic plates bonded to a polycarbonate backing subjected to impacts from 7.62 mm diameter calibre projectiles. The ceramic plate measured 102×102 mm with a thickness of 5.8 mm. A numerical model was developed using the explicit finite element code LS-DYNA, which possesses contact, erosion and material failure capabilities particularly suitable for ballistic simulation. The Johnson–Holmquist, Piecewise Linear Plasticity and Plastic Kinematic constitutive material models were used to model the materials behaviors of the, ceramic, projectile materials and backing material, respectively. The residual velocity and depth of penetration (DoP) into the backing material was obtained and compared with the available experimental data. The results showed that when the ceramic plates were impacted by a projectile, damage mechanism of the fragmented ceramic included radial and circumferential crack lines along with a pulverized center and a highly eroded bullet.