HIGH-THROUGHPUT BALLISTIC LIMIT TESTING USING LASER-INDUCED PARTICLE IMPACT TESTS

Current laser-induced particle impact test (LIPIT) systems launch microspheres (diameter < 100 μm) at various target materials. Smaller spheres are typically launched at faster speeds, and those tests can shed light on the high-rate performance of nanostructures or architected materials. However, the thicknesses of common protection materials cannot be easily scaled to a similar size regime; also, larger spheres cannot be launched at sufficient speeds to accurately study the ballistic limits of those materials at achievable thickness. This work focused on evaluating various LIPIT parameters and deploying new components to increase the speed of 300 μm spheres (a size that can be used to study achievable target thicknesses). The new methods and components also resulted in a significant reduction of time required to experimentally determine the ballistic limit of common protection materials.