INTERACTION OF PROJECTILES AND COMPOSITE ARMOR

The report describes basic experimental and theoretical work on the interaction of projectiles and lightweight composite armor. The armor of interest consists of a very hard and inflexible facing plate (ceramic) bonded to a flexible backing plate (fiber glass). Attention has been focused on the mechanism of interaction between a facing plate and a hard projectile (steel). Experimental results consist of high speed camera photographs of the projectile- armor interaction and observations of the final state of the projectile and armor. Theoretical analyses, based on the theory of elasticity, were used to established stress fields in the facing plate during the initial stages of impact and to determine deflections and bending moments during the later stages. In addition to this work on the mechanics of projectile-armor interaction, exploratory experiments were undertaken with a view toward establishing the dynamic mechanical properties of aluminum oxide, an important facing material.