An experimental study of penetration resistance of ceramic armour subjected to projectile impact

An experimental study has been carried out on the ballistic performance of 95% and 99.5% alumina ceramic tiles backed by metal plates, when subjected to normal impact of hard steel 12.7 mm armour piercing (AP) projectiles at velocities ranging from 500 to 830 ms−1. Typical damaged targets and broken projectiles are presented. The depth of penetration is measured in all the experiments, and the ballistic efficiency factor of the ceramic plates are determined. Results show that the efficiency factor increases with increase in projectile velocity. With the increase in thickness of the ceramic tile, the ballistic efficiency factor for a given velocity is observed to decrease in the case of 99.5% grade and increase in the case of 95% grade ceramic. The higher purity alumina (99.5%) shows higher ballistic performance when compared with the 95% alumina. The 99.5% alumina exhibited a predominantly transcrystalline fracture while the 95% alumina showed a less defined fracture surface. Experiments on 7.62 mm AP shots were also done keeping the (image) ratio same as in 12.7 mm AP experiments and results are presented.