An investigation on failure mechanisms of ceramic/metal armour subjected to the impact of tungsten projectile

The failure mechanism of AD95 ceramic/4340 steel armour subjected to the penetration of the tungsten projectile was investigated at the nominal velocity of 820 m/s. Typical failure modes of the targets with various boundary conditions were presented. The effect of cover plate and confinement on failure mechanisms of the target was analyzed. The results showed that the cover plate can effectively reduce the damage of the target due to it can force the ejected ceramic fragments to decelerate the projectile, and a ceramic powders column was formed beneath the eroded projectile in the confined ceramic sandwiched between cover and support plate during penetration. Compared to the confinement, cover plate is more effective to reduce the damage of the support plate. Based on the experimental results, the failure mechanisms and penetration process of different target configuration have been discussed.