The influence of ceramic thickness and fiber thickness on the bulletproof effect of ceramic (B4C)/fiber composite armor

During the research, it was found that the bulletproof mechanism of composite armor is that in the initial stage of projectile penetration, the penetration energy of the projectile is mainly borne by the ceramic panel. The ceramic dissipates energy through compression and shear damage, and the fiber backplate bulges and delaminates. The fiber deformation is not obvious, and the fiber elongation consumes energy. In the later stage of projectile penetration, when the ceramic panel reaches a certain thickness (up to 10mm), the ceramic panel is impacted and forms a ceramic cone. The backplate fibers show obvious interlayer delamination, fiber tension, and fiber shear, absorbing a large amount of projectile kinetic energy.

The bulletproof effect of ceramic panels improves with increasing thickness, but the increase in bulletproof effect is not significant when the ceramic thickness reaches 14mm; The fiber thickness is also affected by the ceramic panel. When the ceramic thickness reaches 14mm, in order to withstand the impact of 780m/s bullets, the backplate fiber needs to reach 20mm. When the ceramic thickness reaches 16mm, in order to withstand the impact of bullets at the same speed, the backplate fiber only needs to reach 12mm.