Novel Manufacturing Processing Route for Forming High-Density Ceramic Armor Materials: Phase II- SBIR

摘要

The feasibility of a combustion synthesis/Ceracon forging (CS/CF) fabrication process for low-cost high-quality ceramic armor is demonstrated. CS of titanium (Ti) and carbon (C) forming titanium carbide (TiC) was followed by a quasi-isostatic pressurization and densification to produce tiles with 95% + densities with sizes of up to 15 cm x 15 cm x 2.5 Cm. Several tiles were fabricated and delivered to the U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL) for evaluation and testing. A cost model, which showed that approximately 60% in cost savmgs can be realized with the CS/CF method, was developed. Temperature measurements and one-dimensional (1-D) computations were used to develop thermal management practices to make crack-free tiles. X-ray diffraction (XRD) verified full conversion of reactants to products. A considerable variation in TiC grain size and microhardness was found between the surface (-10 pm, high hardness) and the interior (up to 100 pm, low hardness) that depended on conditions during processing. Fractography showed transgranular fracture in the interior and intergranular fracture at the surface. Quasi-static compressive strength was found to be 1.79 GPa, while the flexural strength, determined from four-point bending tests, was 0.17 GPa.