Effects of material of metallic frame on the penetration resistances of ceramic-metal hybrid structures

The effects of metallic material on the penetration resistances of ceramic-metal hybrid structures against vertical long-rod tungsten projectiles were studied by artillery-launched experiments and numerical simulation. Hybrid structures with rectangular cores in transverse orthogonal arrangement and slide-fitting ceramic inserts of zirconia toughened alumina prisms were fabricated with titanium alloy TC4 (Ti6Al4V), AISI 4340 steel and 7075 aluminum alloy panels, respectively. The results showed that the hybrid structure of Ti6Al4V exhibited the highest penetration resistance, followed by that of 7075 aluminum alloy with the same area density. The penetration resistance of the hybrid structure of AISI 4340 steel was the lowest. The underlying mechanisms showed that the metallic material of a ceramic-metal hybrid structure can directly affect its energy absorption from the impact projectile, which further affects its penetration resistance. Different metallic frames exhibited different failure characteristics, resulting in different constraint conditions or support conditions for ceramic prisms. The high penetration resistance of the Ti6Al4V hybrid structure was due to its stronger back support to ceramic prisms as compared with that of AISI 4340 steel hybrid structure, and better constraint condition for ceramic prisms by metallic webs as compared with that of 7075 aluminum alloy hybrid structure. The results of mass efficiency and thickness efficiency showed that the Ti6Al4V hybrid structure has advantages in reducing both the thickness and the mass of protective structure. In addition, because the ceramic-metal hybrid structures in the present work were heterogeneous, impact position has slight influence on their penetration resistances.