Post-mortem microstructural characterisation of SiC materials after interaction with a kinetic energy projectile

Abstract

Ceramic materials prove to be good candidates for armor application against medium kinetic projectiles. The optimization of a ceramic armor concept can be obtained by two different means : the experimental one (with ballistic tests) and the numerical one. In this last case, different models have been developed on physical bases. Nevertheless, values of the parameters used in the material behavior laws and damage criteria are often difficult to be experimentally determined and must be numerically fitted. This results from the lack of information on the physical behavior of projectile and ceramic materials during the interaction, especially in the case of battle field medium projectile. This paper deals with an understanding of the interaction phenomenology, considering especially the physical mechanisms. A special target configuration has been designed to confine ceramic in order to recover the rubble of the target after the projectile interaction. Thus an approach is done by using a post-mortem microstructural analysis of both projectile and ceramic target.