Relationship between dynamic compressive mechanical properties and ballistic performance of titanium armor materials

Dynamic compression experiments have been conducted for TC6 titanium alloy, ATI425 titanium alloy and TC3 titanium alloy by a split Hopkinson Bar process. These titanium alloys were prepared by different heat treatment processes, and the size of cylindrical standard samples was Φ5 mm×5 mm. On the basis of the dynamic compression experiments, the dynamic strength, plasticity and impact absorbed energy under the strain rate of 3000 s^-1 were obtained. Meanwhile, the ballistic performance test was carried out. The armor targets were made up of a titanium panel and a A3 steel backplane. Therefore, the relationship between dynamic mechanical properties and ballistic performance of titanium alloys can be revealed. The results show that the ballistic performance of titanium panel is closely related to its dynamic strength and plasticity. Noticeably, the influence of dynamic strength on ballistic performance is more significant than that of dynamic plasticity; the ballistic performance is mainly determined by dynamic strength. Meanwhile, the impact absorbed energy cannot directly reflect ballistic performance of titanium alloy, and a large front crater and smaller plugging destroy can significantly improve the ballistic performance of titanium panel.