NOVEL CONCEPT FOR EVALUATING CERAMIC ARMOR PENETRATIONS PHENOMENOLOGY

DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATION OF A NOVEL CONCEPT TO MEASURE PENETRATOR INDUCED SHOCK LOADS IN CERAMIC ARMOR IS PROPOSED.EXPLICIT TIME RESOLVED DATA REQUIRED TO UNDERSTAND PENETRATION PHENOMENOLOGY WILL BE OBTAINED USING A NEW PIEZOELECTRIC POLYMER SHOCK GAUGE. A UNIQUE EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH COMBING THE NONOBTRUSIVE SHOCK SENSOR INTO A CONFIGURATION THAT CAN BE FIELDED IN LONG ROD PENETRATOR BALLISTIC TESTING IS PROPOSED. THE UNIQUE SHOCK WAVE INSTRUMENTATION WILLMAKE IT POSSIBLE TO RECORD DATA OVER AN EXTENDED STRESS RANGE (10 TO2.5 X 10 PA) THAT CANNOT CURRENTLY BE MEASURED. ADDITIONAL BENEFITS PROVIDED BY THIS APPROACH ARE (1) MULTIPLE SENSORS IN EACH EXPERIMENT TO PROVIDE DATA COLLABORATION, (2) FAST RESPONSE TIME (40-60 NS), (3) HIGH SIGNAL-TO-NOISE RATIO AND (4) SELF POWERED. THE NEW APPROACH WILL PROVIDE TIME RESOLVED SHOCK WAVE PROFILE DATA TO SUPPORT CERAMIC MATERIAL MODEL DEVELOPMENT AND DYNAMIC MATERIAL PROPERTIES DETERMINATION. ALSO, THE INSTRUMENTATION IS COMPATIBLE WITH EXISTING LONG ROD PENETRATION TEST CONFIGURATIONS. ANTICIPATED BENEFITS/POTENTIAL COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS - POTENTIAL TECHNICAL BENEFITS OF THIS NOVEL SHOCK MEASUREMENT APPROACH INCLUDE PROVIDING REQUIRED PENETRATION RESISTANCE AND MATERIAL PROPERTIES DATA THAT ARE CURRENTLY NOT AVAILABLE. POTENTIAL COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS INCLUDE MANUFACTURING AND MARKETING OF A NEW SHOCK WAVE DIAGNOSTIC TO GOVERNMENT AGENCIES, PRIVATE LABORATORIES, AND FIELD TEST ORGANIZATIONS.