Investigation of ballistic performances of composite armor materials used in armored vehicles

For the defense industry, which is the fastest progression of technology, protection against weapons ammunition threats has always been the most crucial need. With the development of technology in history, armored vehicle design and shapes have also changed with the definition of vehicle covered with armor to ensure security outside of war or war. The armor system seems to be based on the mobile towers in the medieval period. The armored vehicles entered into our lives with the invention of the internal combustion engine. Today, although the most commonly used armor material for armored vehicles is steel, for armor designs that provide lighter and higher protection, composite armor systems are a requirement. Through the scope of this thesis was divided in two stages: Firstly, UHMWPE(Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene), Aramid, Carbon, Carbomide and Glass fiber types used as reinforcing material in composite armor materials in armored vehicles with after laminating with PE film layers without using any resin as matrix material, with press consolidated with the influence of temperature and pressure. The produced various laminated plates subjected to ballistic impact following NIJ standards. According to this standard, the 9x19 Parabellum FMJ cartridges which have 8-gram core mass, from a distance of 5 meters were shot. After the shot tests, the process differences in the production of the plates, the weight of the plates, the deformations formed, the thickness of the plates, the areal densities of the fibers, the weaving types of the fibers, the number of layers, the bullet entry holes and the outlet holes, if any, were compared. The comparison results are shown in the table, the most suitable process as production method and the thinnest and lightest of the lead-impermeable plates are ideally selected. Secondly, using one hundred percent domestic material, the same level of the solution is produced with original hybrid ballistic composite materials. In the second study, 9x19 Parabellum type cartridge was shot by NIJ standards into the developed composite armors and compared with the each other regarding design parameters. Additionally, they were evaluated in deformation in lead cores.