Characterization of Additively Manufactured Silicon Carbide (SiC)-Based Nanocomposites for Body Armor Applications
Abstract
A team of researchers from the US Army, Goodman Technologies Small Business, and the University of Hawaii evaluated the mechanical properties and ballistic integrity of additively manufactured ceramic armor plates fabricated using a novel additive-manufacturing method. The method involved a proprietary compaction molded (Z-process) on nanopastes and subsequent ceramization in a sealed inert high-temperature furnace using five cycles of polymer infiltration and pyrolysis. The processed ceramic formulations concluded from a design of experiments had a composition of SiC-Si-B6O-BN-SiC whiskers SMP-10 nanopaste. Plates (90 x 90 x 8 mm) were produced for ballistic analysis in accordance with established procedures, using a 50.8-mm-thick aluminum 6061 plate as backing and witness plates in the case of penetration or deformation. Six silicon carbide (SiC)-based nanocomposite plates were examined ballistically (one shot per plate) against the 12.7-mm APM2 projectile at an impact velocity of 848 m/s. Variants of cracks, discovered during investigation of the material, were the result of the thermal mismatch of the blended material. Consequently, these mechanisms in these materials yielded lower coefficients of ceramic performance during penetration-resistance studies.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 02, 2021
- Accession Number
- AD1124828
Entities
People
- Bill Goodman
- Brenden M. Minei
- Douglas Harris
- Jerry C LaSalvia
- Kristopher Behler
- Mehrdad N. Ghasemi Nejhad
- Nicholas Ku
- Shawn Kelso
- Tyrone L. Jones
Organizations
- United States Army Research Laboratory
- University of Hawaiʻi System