Experimental and numerical analysis of the dynamic fragmentation in a SiC ceramic under impact

• Impact tests are performed to investigate the dynamic fragmentation in SiC ceramic.
• Final cracking density is observed through Edge-On Impact and Normal impact tests.
• An ultra-high speed camera is used to visualize the kinetics of damage in EOI test.
• Denoual-Forquin-Hild anisotropic damage model is predicting the fragmentation process.
• New impact configuration is used to study the residual strength of fragmented ceramic.

Silicon carbide ceramics are generally used in armour configurations for the foot-soldier or military vehicles. However, their behaviour during impact is not fully understood. In this work, the dynamic fragmentation of silicon carbide has been characterised through different impact configurations: Edge-on impact tests and normal impact tests have been conducted in open and sarcophagus configuration. In the first configuration, an ultra-high speed camera is used to visualise the fragmentation process with an interframe time set to 1 μs. The sarcophagus configuration provides a post-mortem view of the damage pattern. Moreover, a comparison with numerical results given by an anisotropic damage model shows a good capacity to predict the damage patterns and the cracking densities of the ceramic after impact but also the damage kinetics observed during impact. In addition, an original impact configuration is proposed for characterising the dynamic behaviour of a pre-fragmented ceramic. The tests have been compared to experiments performed with a plane aluminium alloy target. The results underline the good penetration resistance of the fragmented ceramic.