A Comparison on Ballistic Performance of Alumina Segments with Alumina Tiles Using DOP Test Method

Abstract

Due to increasing requirement for light weight armour solutions the use of ceramic materials in armour applications has enormously increased. However, the multi hit performance of ceramic materials is still a problem due to their inherent brittleness. This problem is generally addressed by changing the design aspect like using ceramic segments instead of tiles. Even though ceramic segments are in use for armour applications for a long time the ballistic performance of these cylindrical segments have not been measured using simple ballistic testing technique like the Depth of Penetration (DOP) test similar to that of tiles. In this study the DOP test method is utilized for ballistic evaluation of cylindrical alumina segments. The post ballistic damage area was found to be lesser in case of cylindrical alumina segments than alumina tiles, but the ballistic performance of cylindrical segments was found to be inferior to that of tiles.