Modeling prestressed ceramic and its effect on ballistic performance

This article presents computed results for the responses of ceramic targets, with and without prestress, subjected to projectile impact. Also presented is a computational technique to include prestress. Thin and thick ceramic target configurations are used to understand the effect prestressing has on ballistic performance. For both targets two prestress levels (small and large), and two prestress states (radial and hydrostatic) are investigated. The small prestress is similar in magnitude to values obtained experimentally and the large prestress is approximately the maximum prestress the confinement can produce (determined computationally). The targets are subjected to projectile impact and the resulting ballistic responses are evaluated. In all cases prestressing the ceramic enhanced the ballistic performance, although the effect of the different prestress conditions on the ballistic response was not always obvious.