Influence of cover thickness on the ballistic performance of silicon carbide subjected to large-scale tungsten projectiles

Al alloy was the optimal metal cover material for confined silicon carbide (SiC) against blunt tungsten-heavy-alloy projectiles based on a previous research. In this study, the influence of the aluminium (Al) alloy plate thickness on the ballistic performance of SiC was investigated to determine the optimal plate thickness. In addition, the ballistic responses of covered ceramic composite structures under various impact velocities were examined. The failure features of the cover plates and ceramic were elaborated based on tests and simulation analyses. The penetration weight calculated using the measured residual penetration was applied to characterise the ballistic performance of ceramic armour modules. The results showed that thin and thick cover plates could increase the loading rate of the ceramic pressure, thus attenuating their buffering effects on the ceramic. Therefore, the determination of the optimal cover plate thickness must simultaneously meet the requirements of stiffness and the reduced ceramic pressure loading rate. The optimal thickness for the Al alloy cover plate was 4 mm for lateral and back confined ceramic against blunt projectiles in this paper, which was obtained via a numerical simulation. Finally, the buffering effect of the cover plate on enhancing the structural ballistic performance varied with the impact velocities of the projectiles. This study provides insights for covered ceramic armour applications.