Ballistic performance of composite armor impacted by 7.62 mm armor projectile

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of composite armor against 7.62 mm ballistic threats. A sandwich panel construction consisting of a 96% alumina ceramic strike face, an annealed aluminum alloy 7075 cubic lattice sandwich panel, and a thin aluminum backing plate were used to create hard armor. The ballistic test based on NIJ standard level III was performed using 7.62 mm × 51 mm NATO projectiles at an impact velocity of 847 ± 9.1 m∙s-1. The influences of the alumina strike face panel with thicknesses of 7, 10, and 14 mm on the ballistic performance were investigated. The results of the ballistic test suggest that hard armor designs can resist a ballistic impact of 7.62 mm × 51 mm NATO projectiles without penetrating them. With the increase in thickness of alumina ceramic tile, the deformation of the aluminum backing plate decreased. Furthermore, the annealed aluminum alloy 7075 cubic lattice sandwich panel could be able to absorb the residual kinetic energy of the projectile after it was eroded by the ceramic strike panel. The damaged targets after ballistic impact were presented. Collectively, these results indicate that the armor composites in this study may be used in military vehicle applications.