Microstructure and ballistic performance of hot pressed & reaction bonded boron carbides against an armour piercing projectile

A comparative study on ballistic performance of hot pressed boron carbide (HPBC) and reaction bonded boron carbide (RBBC) tiles were performed using depth of penetration (DOP) configuration against 7.62 mm AP ammunition. Both HPBC and RBBC tiles were characterised for their phase contents and properties. Ballistic efficiency was calculated using the newly developed normalised ballistic efficiencies, normalised differential efficiency factor & normalised ballistic efficiency, in order to eliminate the influence of backing material on ballistic efficiency. It was found that for similar tile thickness, the residual shot weight and residual DOP of HPBC tiles were lesser than that of RBBC tiles. Normalised ballistic efficiencies, for both HPBC and RBBC ceramics, showed a higher ballistic performance for HPBC than RBBC tiles.