Session: 12-15-01: Dynamic Failure of Materials & Structures

Paper Number: 94755

94755 - A Study of Multilayer Composite Armor 

Experimental research on the ballistic impact of ceramics bonding with Ultra-High-Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE) was studied with the proof that they can effectively enhance the ballistic resistance of the amor structure. The bulletproof mechanism is that the ceramics layer can prolong the interaction time between the projectile and target plate. The projectile is eroded and decelerated by the ceramics front layer during penetration process while the fiber-reinforced composite layer will absorb the residual kinetic energy of projectile after the impact of the ceramics layer. Also, the geometries of the ceramic tiles like square, hexagon or cylindrical can contribute to the performance significantly. Mosaic ceramics structure with metal alloy honeycomb was proven to withstand multi-hit ballistic impact when compared with monolithic version. The metal alloy honeycomb will localize the damage region and keep the bonding between adjacent ceramics tiles and backing plate. In this research, a multi-layered structure is introduced by combining of ceramics, fiber reinforced composite and metal alloy with the aim of making the armor resist to the high velocity impact of projectile. The new armor structure consists of honeycomb structured Aluminium alloy with inserted Boron carbide or Silicon carbide ceramics tiles as a face-plate and a stacking of ultra-high-molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) as intermediate layer with the total thickness of whole armor is 25-35 mm. The backing plate is a monolithic structure made of metal alloy which is Aluminium alloy. This backing layer provides the final shield or preventing the fragments from penetrating further. Also, there will be cohesive layers between adjacent layers to connect different materials and also enhance ballistic resistance. The thickness of each layer will be adjusted to generate different combinations so that the total thickness of the whole structure will be unchanged. Then a simulation model will be developed in ABAQUS/Explicit to predict the impact performance of armor structure in different scenarios. A thinner version of the proposed structure will be manufactured and experiments will be conducted using the testing facility available in the Mechanical and Industrial Engineering department of Texas A&M University-KingsVille. The experiments consist of impact of 25 gram 52100 steel projectile with impact velocity of 100 m/s to 150 m/s generated by gas cannon with initial pressure from 25 psi to the composite target of Boron carbide or Silicon carbie and Dyneema. Data will be collected and analysed including initial and residual projectile velocity and absorbed kinetic energy. Then the best combination of armor structures will be selected based on the analysed results.

Presenting Author: Shah Alam Texas A&M University

Presenting Author Biography: Shah Alam is an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at Texas A&M university-Kingsville. His research interests include Composite Structures Design and Analysis, Mechanical System Design and Analysis, Fatigue and Fracture Mechanics, Finite Element Analysis, Renewable Energy. Dr. Alam received his PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Louisiana State University (LSU) in 2005.

Authors:

Shah Alam Texas A&M University
Diem Nguyen Texas A&M University -Kingsville
Ma Wahab Louisiana State University