On the comparison of the ballistic response of coated aluminum plates

This study presents the output of an experimental study conducted to determine the effect of two types of plasma spray surface coatings on the ballistic resistance of three specific aluminum alloys. Utilizing the plasma spray technique, aluminum alloys 2024-T351, 6061-T651 and 7075-T651 were coated with Co–Mo–Cr and ZrO2 and the ballistic performance of both uncoated and coated plates against high velocity impact by 9.00 mm Parabellum bullets was examined. Improvement on the ballistic resistance of the plates was clearly seen in the coated ones. It was observed from the tests that Co–Mo–Cr coating is more efficient against penetration and bulging for AA6061-T651 and AA2024-T351 plates while ZrO2 coating is slightly superior to Co–Mo–Cr coating for AA7075-T651 plates.