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Article history:
Received 8 November 2013
Received in revised form
3 July 2014
Accepted 13 July 2014
Available online 18 September 2014
Silicon carbide ceramics are generally used in armour congurations for the foot-soldier or military
vehicles. However, their behaviour during impact is not fully understood. In this work, the dynamic
fragmentation of silicon carbide has been characterised through different impact congurations: Edgeon impact tests and normal impact tests have been conducted in open and sarcophagus conguration. In
the rst conguration, an ultra-high speed camera is used to visualise the fragmentation process with an
interframe time set to 1 ms. The sarcophagus conguration provides a post-mortem view of the damage
pattern. Moreover, a comparison with numerical results given by an anisotropic damage model shows a
good capacity to predict the damage patterns and the cracking densities of the ceramic after impact but
also the damage kinetics observed during impact. In addition, an original impact conguration is proposed for characterising the dynamic behaviour of a pre-fragmented ceramic. The tests have been
compared to experiments performed with a plane aluminium alloy target. The results underline the good
penetration resistance of the fragmented ceramic.
2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords:
Fragmentation
Ceramic
Silicon carbide
Impact
DFH damage model
1. Introduction
In the ballistic eld, one of the main areas of research consists in
improving the ballistic performance of armour systems while
ensuring a considerably lower weight, either to increase the
mobility of the military vehicles or to make the body armour of the
foot soldier less restrictive. One way to achieve this objective consists in using ceramic materials like alumina or silicon carbide as
front face of bilayered congurations [1,2]. Indeed, ceramics present
very interesting mechanical properties like exceptional hardness
and high compressive strength [3e6]. Moreover, these materials are
almost half the density of steel materials. Several studies have
proved their effectiveness in breaking and stopping projectiles
[3,7e10]. However, besides these interesting mechanical properties,
ceramics present a brittle behaviour under tensile loading, leading
* Corresponding author. Present address: Laboratoire Sols Solides Structures Grenoble Alpes, BP 53, F-38041 Grenoble Cedex 9, France.
Risques (3SR), Universite
Tel.: 33 4 76 82 52 48; fax: 33 4 76 82 70 43.
E-mail address: pascal.forquin@3sr-grenoble.fr (P. Forquin).
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijimpeng.2014.07.007
0734-743X/ 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
10
mechanisms and microcrackings can be observed within the material [13e19]. However, it can be noted that a minimum impact
velocity of about 700 m/s is necessary to generate such phenomena
in SiC ceramics. Later, dynamic tensile stresses induced by the radial
displacement of the matter and the reected waves lead to an
intense fragmentation of the ceramic [11]. Contrary to the
compressive damage, an impact velocity of about 10 m/s is sufcient
to generate tensile damage. This fragmentation can be described by
the anisotropic damage model formulated by Denoual, Forquin and
Hild [12,20,21] named the DFH model. Finally, during a last stage
spreading over several tens of microseconds, the projectile (or its
fragments) penetrates the damaged ceramic. The mechanical
behaviour of the fragmented ceramic may play an important role in
the penetration resistance of the armour. However, due to the difculty to recover a damaged specimen without any loss of fragment,
only very few studies have analysed the mechanical behaviour of
fragmented ceramics. Among these studies, we can distinguish
quasi-static and dynamic studies performed on powders in order to
determine the friction coefcient of the grains [22], compression
experiments on powders and pre-damaged ceramics [23] or impact
studies on powders and thermally shocked ceramics [24]. In the
present work, the fragmentation of a SiC ceramic under impact has
been investigated through different types of impact experiments. In
the rst part, the studied material and the different experimental
congurations (edge-on impact test and normal impact test) are
presented. The fragmentation of the ceramic under impact is analysed by means of an ultra-high speed camera and post-mortem
observations. In the second part, the DFH anisotropic damage
model is used to simulate the experiments and to compare the
damage features of both impact congurations. Finally, an original
armour-piercing impact test on a pre-fragmented ceramic is
detailed. This experimental technique is used to characterise the
penetration resistance of the fragmented ceramic.
2. Impact experiments
In order to characterise the fragmentation of ceramics under
impact, different experimental congurations are considered. In
this part, the projectiles have a cylindrical shape. They are 10 mm in
diameter and 15 mm thick. The constitutive material of the projectile is a 15CDV6 steel (UTS: 1300 MPa). It has been chosen to
minimise the deformation of the projectile during impact. The
weight of the projectile is about 9.3 g. To launch the projectile, a
single stage gas gun has been used and the back half of the projectiles is encased in a Teon guiding sabot. These sabots are
21.15 mm in diameter, which corresponds to the diameter of the
tube. The sabot does not have any inuence on the fragmentation of
the ceramic since it hits the ceramic target several tens of microseconds later. The impact velocity is measured by three light sources
and photodiodes connected to an oscilloscope. In all cases, impact
velocities are ranging from 170 to 180 m/s. The impact velocity
about 175 m/s was set to avoid any compressive damage but to
cause a strong fragmentation of the ceramic due to the tensile stress
elds. The ceramic grade considered in this study is detailed below.
2.1. Presentation of Hexoloy silicon carbide
Silicon carbide ceramics are among the most used ceramics for
armour protection. In this work, a commercial silicon carbide grade
made by Saint-Gobain has been considered. This grade, called
Hexoloy SA, is produced from a submicron silicon carbide alpha
powder and by pressureless sintering technique. After sintering
process, the material presents a ne grain microstructure (max
grain size: 10 mm) and a density greater than 98% of the theoretical
density [25]. The typical physical properties of Hexoloy are gathered in Table 1.
2.2. Edge-on impact tests in sarcophagus conguration
The so-called edge-on impact (EOI) conguration was rst
developed during the eighties and the nineties by the Ernst-MachInstitute (EMI) in Germany [26e28] and more recently in the
Centre Technique dArcueil (CTA) in France [8,11,12]. The aim of EOI
test is to visualise the fragmentation process occurring in a ceramic
tile during an impact. A cylindrical projectile hits a ceramic tile on
its edge. The size of the tested tile is 60 30 8 mm3. Despite the
low impact velocity (lower than 180 m/s), the impact generates a
shock loading of about 3.4 GPa. This compressive wave propagating
within the target induces a radial motion of the matter generating
an intense damage of the ceramic. Denoual and al [29]. have shown
that the same damage mechanisms can be observed in EOI tests and
in real impact. Moreover a sarcophagus conguration may be used
to perform a post-mortem analysis of the damage pattern. In this
conguration, the ceramic tile is put in an aluminium casing in
order to limit the fragments displacement. However, in order to
limit the inuence of the sarcophagus on the fragmentation process, an impedance discontinuity is necessary between the ceramic
tile and the aluminium sarcophagus. Thus, little pieces of cardboard
are used. The Fig. 1 shows the assembly after impact (once the
lateral part of the sarcophagus is removed).
In order to perform a post-mortem analysis, the fragmented
ceramic is inltrated after impact by a hyper uid resin. The Fig. 2
shows the fragmented ceramic after inltration and polishing. One
can see that, thanks to the sarcophagus, the fragments are kept near
their initial position (the fragments located just above the impact
point are not covered by the sarcophagus and may move). Different
types of cracking are visible: rst, a large number of radial cracks is
observed in the centre of the target. They are due to the radial
displacement of the matter induced by the compressive wave. The
second set of cracks named conical cracks seems to be initiated on
the impacted edge. Cracks triggered on the rear face are also
observed due to release waves coming from the lateral and rear
edges. In addition some cracks orthogonal to the radial cracks are
seen. This post-mortem observation can also provides an estimation of the cracking density considering the mean distance between
each crack in a dened region. For example, a mean distance between cracks of 0.5 mm corresponds to a cracking density of about
8 109 cracks per cubic metre. By drawing several arcs of circle
centred on the impact point, the mean distance between cracks can
be calculated knowing the number of cracks crossing each arc. The
cracking density has been estimated in two regions (white dashed
lines in Fig. 2). The rst zone is 10 5 mm2 in dimension whereas
the second zone is 8 8 mm2 in dimension. In the rst region, the
mean distance between cracks is ranging from 0.17 to 0.50 mm,
which corresponds to a cracking density ranging from 8 109 to
2 1011 cracks/m3. In the second region, the cracking density is
less. Indeed, the cracking density is ranging from 5 109 to 2 109
cracks/m3. However, this conguration doesn't give any information about the fragmentation kinetics. To analyse the fragmentation
process, an open conguration has been used with an ultra-high
speed camera.
Table 1
Typical physical properties of Hexoloy silicon carbide [25].
Density Grain size Hardness Elasticity Poisson Compressive
strength (MPa)
(kg/m3) (mm)
(Knoop) modulus ratio
(GPa)
Hexoloy 3100
4e10
2800
410
0.14
3900
11
Fig. 2. Post-mortem view of the fragmented ceramic tile after EOI test.
Fig. 3. Distribution of fragments size obtained from two edge-on impact experiments
performed in open conguration (Vimpact 180 m/s).
12
Fig. 4. Fragmentation process in Hexoloy SiC during impact (Vimpact 180 m/s).
cone delimited by the conical cracks. In this area, the fragmentation is also composed of radial cracks connected by orthogonal
cracks. Outside the cone, the cracking density drops and only large
fragments are visible. Using the same method than previously, the
cracking density of the ceramic target after normal impact test can
be estimated on the rear face of the damaged ceramic and along the
thickness of the sample. On the rear face, two circles centred on the
impact point are considered. The rst one is about 2.5 mm in radius
whereas the second one is about 9 mm in radius. A total number of
99 radial cracks are crossing the rst circle, corresponding to a
cracking density of about 2.8 1011 cracks/m3, whereas 142 radial
cracks are crossing the second circle. The cracking density is about
1.6 1010 cracks/m3, a conrmation that the cracking density decreases with the radius. The cracking density has also been determined in the thickness of the sample. In the rst half of the
thickness, just under the impact point, the cracking density cannot
be easily determined due to the displacement of fragments. Thus, it
has been estimated on the second half of the thickness. The estimated cracking density in this zone is about 1.5 1011 cracks/m3.
The rst conclusion is that the cracking density within the ceramic
is about one half the cracking density on the rear face. The second
conclusion is that the cracking density after normal impact test is
similar to the cracking density estimated in edge-on impact test
13
Fig. 6. Post-mortem view of (a)- the front face, (b)- the rear face of the Hexoloy ceramic tile after normal impact test.
when the maximum principal stress s(x) becomes greater than the
failure stress si(x) of the defect Di. To describe this phenomenon, a
Weibull law may be used [31]. The failure probability of a loaded
volume is written as:
i
h
PF 1 exp lt sVeff ;
(1)
lt s l0
s
s0
m
;
Z
U
si x m
du;
smax
(3)
V0 T t SVcrack T tn ;
Vcrack kC0 :
(5)
0
(2)
Veff
(4)
where T is the current time, t is the crack inception time and S is the
shape parameter associated to the space dimension n
Pno exp@
ZT
1
dlt t
V0 T tdt A:
dt
(6)
V0
:
Vtotal
(7)
1
6
6 1 D1
6
16
6
6 n
E6
6
6
4
n
n
n
1
1 D2
n
n
1
1 D3
7
7
7
7
7
7S :
7
7
7
5
(8)
Fig. 7. Cross-section of the Hexoloy ceramic tile after cut under the impact point.
(9)
14
vlcracks
vlt
Pno
:
vt
vt
(10)
Veff
bhl
bhL l
;
2m 1 2m 12
(11)
Fig. 8. Weibull diagram of Hexoloy ceramic and dimensions of the four-point exure
tests.
Moreover, we can observe that all types of cracks are well represented. Indeed, during the rst two microseconds, the damaged
zone predicted is only due to radial cracks and conical cracks and,
from the third microsecond after impact, damage due to reected
waves appears. The last picture in Fig. 10 shows that the sample is
intensively damaged principally near the impact point and along
the impact axis, where the cracking density reached the maximum
value.
In Fig. 11, the cracking density predicted by the numerical
simulation is compared to the post-mortem view of the damaged
sample obtained after edge-on impact in sarcophagus
conguration.
On part 2.2, the experimental cracking density has been determined in two zones. In the rst zone, located in the vicinity of the
impact axis, the cracking density varies between 8 109 and
2 1011 cracks/m3. In the same zone, the numerical simulation
predicts a cracking density varying mainly between 1 1010 and
1 1012 cracks/m3. In the second region, the cracking density is
lower. It varies between 5 109 and 2 1010 cracks/m3. Numerically, the cracking density is ranging from 1 109 and 1 1010
cracks/m3. A quite good correlation is obtained between experimental results and numerical predictions. Moreover, as predicted
by the numerical simulations, far from the impact point (excepted
along the impact axis), the cracking density drops and only large
fragments are visible. The numerical results of damage eld and
cracking density eld given by the anisotropic damage model are
consistent with the experimental results obtained after edge-on
impact test. In the next part, the numerical results given by the
model are compared to the experimental results from the normal
impact test.
3.4. Numerical simulations of normal impact tests
In the numerical simulations of normal impact tests, the rear
plate and the lateral parts of the sarcophagus are not considered.
The lateral faces of the ceramic sample are considered as free
(cardboards had been used during the experiments to inhibit the
inuence of the sarcophagus). A quarter of the volume is meshed.
Table 2
Weibull parameters of Hexoloy obtained in the present study.
Hexoloy
Weibull modulus
Effective
volume (mm3)
8.97
445.9
8.33
15
Fig. 9. Inuence of the mesh size and mesh orientation on the eld of cracking density 5 ms after impact. (a) Inuence of the mesh size (0.3 mm and 0.5 mm on the left hand side
and on the right hand side respectively). (b) Inuence of the mesh orientation (0.3 mm structured mesh on the left hand side and 0.3 mm unstructured mesh on the right hand
side).
16
Fig. 10. Comparison between the fragmentation observed by means of the ultra-high speed camera and the damage eld given by the calculation.
Fig. 11. Comparison between the post-mortem view of the fragmented ceramic after EOI test and the cracking density eld 5 ms after impact.
17
Fig. 12. Comparison between the post-mortem view of the rear face of the fragmented ceramic after normal impact test and the cracking density eld 5 ms after impact.
Fig. 13. Comparison between the cross-section of the fragmented ceramic after normal impact test and the cracking density eld 5 ms after impact (the legend is the same than in
Fig. 12).
Fig. 15. Ultra-high speed camera pictures of the armour-piercing impact on fragmented Hexoloy (shot #1).
18
Fig. 16. Ultra-high speed camera pictures of the armour-piercing impact on the aluminium alloy backing.
fragmented ceramic. These tests have shown an important residual behaviour of the ceramic during the rst microseconds after
impact. These results should be used in a future work to validate a
model describing the dynamic behaviour of the fragmented
ceramic.
Acknowledgements
This work has been performed with the nancial support of the
CEA (French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission)
and of the DGA (French General Delegation for Armament) and was
sponsored by Saint-Gobain CREE. The support of these organisations is gratefully acknowledged.
References
Fig. 17. Comparison of the free surface velocities at the rear face of the aluminium
alloy backing in different congurations of armour-piercing impact tests.
These curves demonstrate that the fragmented Hexoloy presents an important residual resistance in the rst microseconds of
impact. Moreover, both curves obtained with Hexoloy ceramic
show the deterministic behaviour of the fragmented ceramic under
impact. This experimental conguration should be used in a future
work to build a model describing the dynamic behaviour of a
fragmented ceramic.
5. Conclusions
In this work, different impact congurations have been developed to characterise the dynamic fragmentation of a commercial
silicon carbide grade, named Hexoloy. Among these congurations, edge-on impact tests and normal impact tests have been
performed on a sarcophagus conguration, allowing to recover a
fragmented ceramic after impact without any loss of fragments.
Post-mortem analyses have shown the intense fragmentation of
the ceramic ahead the impact point (cracking density about 1011
cracks per cubic metre) despite the quite low impact velocity
(175 m/s). Moreover, a cross-section of the damaged sample after
normal impact test have shown similar failure pattern and cracking
densities with the damaged sample after edge-on impact test. In
open conguration, an ultra-high speed camera has been used in
edge-on impact tests to visualise the damage kinetics during
impact. All the data obtained experimentally have been compared
to the predictions of the DFH (Denoual, Forquin, Hild) anisotropic
damage model. These comparisons have shown a good capacity of
the model to predict damage patterns and cracking densities in
different regions of the target and also the growth of damage in the
sample during impact. In the last part, a new tandem conguration is proposed by applying a second impact to the pre-
19