Study on the Penetration Performance of a 5.8 mm Ceramic Composite Projectile

The penetration ability of a 5.8 mm standard projectile can be improved by inserting a ZrO₂ ceramic ball with high hardness, high temperature, and pressure resistance at its head. Thereby, a ceramic composite projectile can be formed. A depth of penetration (DOP) experiment and numerical simulation were conducted under the same condition to study the armor-piercing effectiveness of a standard projectile and ceramic composite projectile on 10 mm Rolled Homogeneous Armor (RHA) and ceramic/Kevlar composite armor, respectively. The results show that both the ceramic composite and standard projectiles penetrated the armor steel target at the same velocity (850 m/s). The perforated areas of the former (φ5 mm & φ2 mm) were 2.32 and 2.16 times larger, respectively, than those of the latter. The residual core masses of these two projectiles (φ5 mm & φ2 mm) were enhanced by 30.45% and 22.23%. Both projectiles penetrated the ceramic/Kevlar composite armor at the same velocity (750 m/s). Compared with the standard projectile, the residual core masses of the ceramic composite one (Ø5 mm & Ø2 mm) were enhanced by 12.4% and 3.6%, respectively. This paper also analyzes the penetration mechanism of the ceramic composite projectile on target plates by calculating its impact pressure. The results show that the ceramic composite projectile outperformed the standard projectile in penetration tests. The research results are instructive in promoting the application of the ZrO₂ ceramic composite in an armor-piercing projectile design.