Applications of ceramics in composite protective structures

Object and purpose of research. The object of the study is ceramic-containing protective structures. The purpose of the study is to substantiate the feasibility and effectiveness of using ceramics as part of standard ship structures for protection against the effects of high-speed damaging elements. Materials and methods. Composites of the "ceramic + steel", "ceramic + fiberglass" type, made with the use of poly-crystalline ceramic materials based on boron carbide, nitride and silicon carbide, aluminum oxide and some other types, are considered. The study is based on an analytical approach, the results of ballistic tests of ceramic-containing composites and computational collapse simulation of ceramics in the composition of armor structures. Main results. The results of experimental studies demonstrating the level of efficiency of ceramic-containing structures are presented. The influence of the fragmentation features of various types of ceramics on the ballistic robustness of protective structures is shown. Structural and technological solutions aimed at increasing the survivability and ensuring the mounting of ceramic-containing structures on the ship are presented. Conclusion. The high efficiency of ceramics use in ship structures for protection against the impact of high-speed damaging elements is demonstrated. The use of ceramics in protective structures allows to get a significant increase in the ballistic robustness of structures while ensuring their ballistic survivability.