Ballistic performance of liquid-phase sintered silicon carbide
Journal
Ceramics International
Journal Volume
39
Journal Issue
7
Pages
8253-8259
Date Issued
2013
Author(s)
Abstract
The ballistic performances of liquid-phase sintered silicon carbide (SiC) specimens prepared by pressureless sintering were evaluated. Solid-state sintering additives were also used in preparation of additional SiC specimens for comparison purposes. SiC specimens prepared by adding solid-state sintering additives were also prepared for the purpose of comparison. With the addition of 10-15 wt% of Al2O3 and Y2O3, the strength and toughness of the liquid-phase sintered SiC (LSC) were higher than those of solid-state sintered SiC (SSC). Nevertheless, the hardness of LSC specimen tended to be lower. However, LSC specimens sintered at 1875° C can pass the NIJ Level IV test. The microstructure observation provides direct evidence of the importance of hardness and toughness regarding ballistic performance. A performance index, the hardness/density ratio, is proposed to rank the ballistic performance on ceramics used for personnel armor applications. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l.
Type
journal article