Innovative Design and Ballistic Performance of Lightweight Composite Integral Armor

Recent developments in design of composite armor for lightweight ground vehicle applications is discussed. Composite integral armor (CIA) is a multi-functional hybrid material system that has been successfully demonstrated in the Composite Armored Vehicle. A typical CIA hull consists of a composite cover layer, a ceramic strike face and a thick-section composite backing plate. CIA provides equivalent ballistic performance at reduced areal-density than monolithic armor. Future combat vehicles will require modular armor upgrades of the CIA hull to increase ballistic protection for specific missions. Finite element (FE) modeling has been performed to understand the through thickness wave propagation and the effect of non-linear material behavior in CIA. Innovative design, fabrication and ballistic performance evaluation of a new generation armor utilizing metal foams have been presented.