Abstract
Ceramic materials are commonly used as protective materials particularly due to their very high hardness and compressive strength. However, the microstructure of a ceramic has a great influence on its compressive strength and on its ballistic efficiency. To study the influence of microstructural parameters on the dynamic compressive behaviour of silicon carbides, isentropic compression experiments have been performed on two silicon carbide grades using a high pulsed power generator called GEPI. Contrary to plate impact experiments, the use of the GEPI device and of the lagrangian analysis allows determining the whole loading path. The two SiC grades studied present different Hugoniot elastic limit (HEL) due to their different microstructures. For these materials, the experimental technique allowed evaluating the evolution of the equivalent stress during the dynamic compression. It has been observed that these two grades present a work hardening more or less pronounced after the HEL. The densification of the material seems to have more influence on the HEL than the grain size.
Highlights
Ceramic materials are commonly used as protective materials since the sixties and the Vietnam War [1]
To study the influence of microstructural parameters on the dynamic compressive behaviour of silicon carbides, isentropic compression experiments have been performed on two silicon carbide grades using a high pulsed power generator called GEPI
After the GEPI compression test performed on the PS-S grade, one can observe that the velocity signal obtained on the 4 mm thick specimen presents a shock for velocities comprises between 0 and 460 m/s
Summary
Ceramic materials are commonly used as protective materials since the sixties and the Vietnam War [1]. In order to characterise the dynamic compressive strength of brittle materials, plate impact experiments are generally performed. This kind of experiments allows determining the Hugoniot elastic limit (HEL), i.e. the elastic limit of the material under uniaxial strain state, and the Hugoniot curve which is the loci of all possible equilibrium states under shock loading. Two silicon carbide grades have been characterised in order to highlight the links between the microstructure of ceramics and their dynamic compressive behaviour These grades present a high density, but they have been made using pressureless or spark plasma sintering (SPS). The experimental results obtained on the two silicon carbides grades are presented before comparing it with numerical results
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