NOVEL CERAMIC/METAL COMPOSITES FOR ARMOR APPLICATIONS

CERAMICS HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO BE VERY EFFECTIVE IN THE DEFEAT OF A WIDE RANGE OF KINETIC ENERGY (KE) THREATS. HOWEVER, THE USE OF CERAMICS IN ARMORED VEHICLES HAS BEEN LIMITED DUE IN MOST PART TO THEIR HIGH COST. CERAMIC PARTICULATE REINFORCED METAL MATRIX COMPOSITES (MMCS) PRODUCED BY PRESSURELESS LIQUID METAL INFILTRATION ARE INEXPENSIVE RELATIVE TO MONOLITHIC CERAMICS DUE TO THE LOWER COST OF THE RAW MATERIALS, THE ABILITY TO PRODUCE THE MMCS TO NET SHAPE, AND THE LOWER COST PROCESSING TECHNIQUE. LIKE CERAMICS, MMCS (CONTAINING HIGH LOADINGS (>60 VOL%) OF CERAMIC PARTICLES) CAN PROVIDE VERY EFFECTIVE BALLISTIC PERFORMANCE VERSUS MANY KE THREATS. IN GENERAL, THE PERFORMANCE OF THESE MMCS CAN BE ENHANCED BY INCREASING THE CERAMIC CONTENT. TO THIS END, THE PRESENT WORK IS PROPOSED. LOW COST NET SHAPE MMCS WILL BE FABRICATED VIA THE PRESSURELESS LIQUID METAL INFILTRATION TECHNIQUE. PROPRIETARY PROCESSING STEPS WILL BE APPLIED TO YIELD A COMPOSITE WITH AN ENHANCED CERAMIC CONTENT. THE FINAL PRODUCT WILL POSSESS THE ECONOMIC ADVANTAGES OF THE CURRENT GENERATION OF MMCS, BUT THE INCREASED CERAMIC CONTENT SHOULD RESULT IN IMPROVED BALLISTIC PERFORMANCE. PHASE I WILL STUDY THE PROCESSING AND QUASI-STATIC PROPERTIES OF THESE NOVEL COMPOSITE MATERIALS. THESE MATERAILS WILL BE ECONOMICAL AND ARE ANTICIPATED TO HAVE FAVORABLE BALLISTIC PERFORMANCE VERSUS A VARIETY OF HEAVY THREATS FACED BY MAIN BATTLE TANKS. POTENTIAL COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS ARE INDUSTRIAL WEAR COMPONENTS.