Boron carbide in ceramic armor

Question 1

What are the deadliest bullets?

Answer 1

~ bullets fired from rifles are much more deadly than from handguns because the muzzle velocity (velocity at end of muzzle) is so much greater as a result of the longer time of acceleration in a rifle barrel

Question 2

What can stop lead bullets?

Answer 2

~ fabric-only personal armor (kevlar)

Question 3

What will penetrate soft armor?

Answer 3

~ steel cored rounds

Question 4

What is rifle protection personal armor?

Answer 4

~ is in the form of curved monolithic plates, with a “shooters-cut” shape to permit arm mobility

Question 5

How are metals used as armor?

Answer 5

~ the work of deformation of a metal armor impacted by a bullet generates significant heat, leading to localized thermal softening

~ thus, metals effectively flow out of the way of projectiles as if they wre liquids

Question 6

How are ceramics used as armor?

Answer 6

~ initially used via applying porcelain enamel coatings to steel strike faces

~ first use was in the form of helicopter seats during Vietnam war for small fire arms protection

~ boron carbide in torso plates was first used during the Falklands war (1982)

Question 7

What increases ballistic effectiveness of ceramic armor?

Answer 7

~ increasing hardness

Question 8

How are ceramics used for personal armor?

Answer 8

~ used in conjuction with a polymer fiber backing material, the ceramic is the “disruptor” and the backing is the absorber”

~ the ceramic blunts, erodes, and potentially fracture the incoming projectile

~ the backing absorbs the remaining energy of the bullet or its fragments