FRACTURE PHENOMENA OF BRITTLE MATERIAL AGAINST A SHAPED CHARGE JET

Abstract

In order to study the protection behavior of brittle materials against a shaped charge jet, the jet penetration and the fracture behavior have been investigated by the series of photographs taken by the IMACON high speed camera. The examined materials were glass, fused silica, and single crystalline quartz. The trend of crack growth in BK7 glass and fused silica indicated conical shape. In the case of the single crystalline quartz, it was observed that the crack grows fast along the axis of crystal growth. The velocity of shock wave (~ 6km/sec) into glass and fused silica was faster than the sonic velocity. However, the velocity of shock wave in the single crystalline quartz showed to be similar to its sonic velocity. The ballistic protection capability of single crystalline quartz showing fast crack growth has been evaluated to be lower than that of fused silica which has relatively slow crack growth, although the quartz has higher physical and mechanical properties.