Quantitative investigation on ballistic resistance and energy absorption behavior of columnar ceramic/interlayer hybrid fiber composites

This paper investigates the impact of hybrid fiber structures on the ballistic performance of columnar ceramic/interlayer hybrid fiber composites. Three hybrid fiber composites and one single fiber-component composite were fabricated. The accuracy of the numerical model was validated through quantitative analysis of matching micro-CT images with simulation results. The error of the back convex height (BCH) values between the numerical simulation and the micro-CT was only 2.8%. The error of delamination area at four thickness positions is only 0.7%, 14.7%, 0.3%, and 5.3%, respectively. The quantitative study on the ballistic performance of ceramic/fiber composites indicates that all hybrid fiber composites provide enhanced penetration resistance, with the sandwich structure outperforming the rest. Compared with the C-U sample, the bullet's remaining velocity and the BCH in the C-(A/U/A) sample were significantly improved, with reductions of 195 m center dot s-1 and 16.6 mm, respectively. During the penetration process, the ceramic/fiber composites mainly exhibited damage failure mechanisms such as ceramic crushing to form ceramic cones, shear failure, and shear-tensile-delamination mixed failure. The energy absorption rate (EAR) of ceramic failure was 54.1%-60.2%, the EAR of tension was 12.5%-20.9%, and the EAR of the tension-delamination-shearing mixed model was 21.9%-32.8%.Highlights The numerical model is quantitatively validated with micro-CT results. Ballistic resistance and EARs in six stages are quantitatively analyzed. C-(A/U/A) composite has superior ballistic resistance compared to C-U. The accuarcy validation results of numerical simulation and the comparison of ballistic resistence of different target plates. image