Investigation of the Ballistic Performances of Composite Materials Used in Armored Vehicles

Nowadays, composite armor materials become more attractive comparing to traditional armor materials such as armor steels, with the developing technology, due to weight reduction needs. Unlike the ballistic steels, the composite armors stop the bullet even in repeated shots. In this study, selected composite vehicle armor materials; Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE), Aramid, Carbon, Hybrid, and Glass Fiber fabrics used by layering with PE film plies without using any resin as a matrix material. 9x19 Parabellum FMJ cartridges consisting of the soft lead core with 8 grams at a distance of 5 m were shot with fireworks by the NIJ standards used in ballistic applications. After the fire tests, the damage and deformations in the produced composite armor plates were examined by taking into consideration the process parameters, the composite plate physical and geometrical properties such as weight, thickness, densities, fabric weaving types, number of plies, bullet entry and exit holes. The results were evaluated and concluded to the obtain optimal process parameters and the physical properties such as weight saving and armoring performance