Structural Analysis, Design and Subscale Testing ofComposite Laminated Armors

摘要

Composite laminated armors typically employ a hard strike face (I.e., ceramic tiles)bonded onto a thick structural backing plate (I.e., composite or metallic material). These armorshave been identified as weight efficient solutions for armored vehicle applications and arecurrently being developed to meet both ballistic and structural requirements. It is important tonote that the retention of structural integrity is essential to retention of ballistic integrity. Thestructural performance of a laminated armor must also be taken into consideration if the design isto survive the in-service loads and durability requirements of the vehicle. Consequently, thereexists a critical need to develop and validate reliable modeling tools and testing methodologiesthat enable the efficient design and analysis of laminated armors for vehicle applications basedon structural performance requirements and integrity of long term ballistic performance.In this work we develop and validate a methodology for the analysis, design andstructural evaluation of laminated armor structures. To overcome the difficulties associated withthe heterogeneity of the tiles in the laminated armor, a building block approach is adoptedwherein a combination of homogenization procedures, sub-element testing, theoretical analysis,and numerical modeling are employed. Sub-element beam components with both composite andtitanium backing plates are fabricated and mechanically tested to characterize the response andfailures unique to laminated armor. Armor beam test results are presented for loadconfigurations that include flexure, transverse shear and in-plane compression. Effective'homogeneous' mechanical properties of the armor that are suitable for implementation in finiteelement modeling of full-scale structures are derived from the tests. Finite element model resultsare presented that validate the homogenization methodology. Insights into the behavior andunique failure modes in laminated armors are discussed as well as future directions of this effort.