Ballistic impact response of monolithic steel and tri-metallic steel-titanium-aluminium armour to nonrigid NATO FMJ M80 projectiles

A comprehensive comparison is presented between monolithic and tri-metallic steel-titanium-aluminium armour subjected to nonrigid projectile impact for the first time. Behind-armour performance using back -face pressure and back-face signature was studied for selected targets for the first time. Ten tri-metallic targets showed similar ballistic performances to the 6-mm Armox500T sample. Moreover, the highest back-face signature was recorded for the targets with Titanium backing. It was found that the tri-metallic target 4 mm Steel-1 mm Titanium-5.6 mm Aluminium provided superior behind-armour trauma performance than a 6-mm thick Armox monolithic plate while having similar ballistic resistance on a common weight basis.

Automated summary

A comprehensive comparison between monolithic and tri-metallic steel-titanium-aluminium armour subjected to nonrigid projectile impact is presented. The study revealed that the tri-metallic target showed similar ballistic performances to the monolithic sample, and even provided superior behind-armour trauma performance.