Penetration resistance of ceramic/PUE/GFRP multi-layered composite structure

Abstract

The impact resistance of multi-layered lightweight composite structures is a hot topic in modern military and national defense. To achieve the goal of lightweight, a composite plate consisting of alumina ceramic/polyurethane elastomer (PUE)/glass fiber reinforced plastic (GFRP) with areal density of 3.6 g/cm2 was designed. The penetration experiment of the composite plate was carried out with a first stage light air gun, and the dynamic response of the composite plate under the impact of a large mass round nose projectile (mass 50 g, velocity 100–450 m/s) was studied by combining finite element simulation. Through analysis and discussion, the failure mode, deformation process, energy absorption effect and impact time of the composite plate during penetration process are determined. It is found that the ballistic limit velocity of the composite plate under this penetration condition is 169 m/s. The ceramic layer plays an important role in the energy consumption of the bullet during penetration and the PUE layer does a major part in the penetration time. The penetration time of the PUE layer is always higher than that of the ceramic layer and accounts for about 50% of the total penetration time. As the bullet velocity increases, the distance between the energy absorption of PUE and ceramic gradually decreases. The energy absorption of PUE, which accounts for 29% of the total mass, can reach 36%, while the energy absorption efficiency of the composite plate gradually decreases and finally reaches 18.7%. Through the damage process, it is found that the failure mode of ceramic is completely different from that of PUE. GFRP acts as an intermediate layer and backplane, which has an effective function in stress wave transmission and energy absorption. Finally, under the same penetration conditions, the ballistic limit velocity and damage of the four target plates are compared. The penetration resistance of composite plate is equivalent or better than that of the metal plate because it has a smaller deformation and damage area.