Development of aluminum nitride: A new low-cost armor. Final report, August 1988-March 1992
High performance and low cost are the two essential requirements necessary for advanced ceramics to be considered for incorporation into future armor systems. This work involved a comprehensive program, focused on aluminum nitride based ceramics, which examined the critical ceramic processing parameters and studied the impact these modifications had on ballistic performance. The accomplished objective was to demonstrate that low-cost fabrication methods could be utilized to produce high performance AlN based ceramics. Using a spray-dry, dry-press, pressureless sintering process, thick tiles were produced with ballistic performance equivalent to hot-pressed AlN materials. While penetration resistance against the long rod penetrator (LRP) was the ultimate measure of performance, several other ballistic tests were also performed. Ballistic limits were obtained for ceramic targets with a .30 caliber AP simulant and penetration tests were performed against .50 caliber APDS and SLAP rounds. These tests were used as screening tools to guide AIN powder and sintering aid optimization.
- Research Organization:
- Dow Chemical Co., Midland, MI (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 6765585
- Report Number(s):
- AD-A-285283/8/XAB; CNN: DAAL03-88-C-0012
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Transparent ceramic armor
An assessment of the cost of microwave sintering ceramic tiles for armor applications: Phase 2 report